So Close Yet So Far
by apollyon1991
Summary: Two people,so similar yet so different. When Shima's summoning jutsu misfires, instead of appearing to rescue Konoha from Pain, Naruto is dropped into the middle of the Northern Watertribe invasion. Naruto/Toph
1. Chapter 1

**Ok, so I posted an idea for this story some time ago, hoping someone would take it. No one has. So, despite every nerve in my body telling me not to, I am going to try my hand at writing. I really don't know if I'm going to write any more. As much as I hate to say it, it will probably depend on the reviews that I get. None of that "I won't continue unless I get 50+ reviews" crap. I just need to know if it's going to be worth it, or if I should just stop now.**

**I do not own Naruto or Avatar: the Last Airbender**

**Bold = spirits (including Kyuubi) dialogue/ Jutsu**

_Italics = thoughts_

….

Mt. Myoboku was known around the world for two things. First, it is known as the home of the great toad sages - a mighty clan of summons, capable of wielding the very energy of nature itself, and partners of some of the greatest warriors in the history of the elemental nations. Always respected, the toads truly came to be feared under the contract with Jiraiya of the Sannin, whose prowess in battle was legendary in its own right; and later, under the contract with Minato Namikaze, the Fourth Hokage, who was regarded as one of the most powerful shinobi to ever live. Through these men, and others like them, the toads earned a reputation as powerful allies and dangerous enemies. But, as much as Mt Myoboku is known for its dangerous warriors, it is also known for its unsurpassed beauty and tranquility. The still, clear ponds; the pleasantly warm weather, and the lush vegetation all created an environment of absolute peace that has become envied the world over. This was a place without war; without conflict; without pain and suffering; without any worries at all… Well, maybe there were some worries. At least, the young man sitting at the base of one of Myoboku's many enormous trees certainly felt a great deal of worry.

Young Naruto Uzumaki, shinobi of Konohagakure no Sato, student of Kakashi Hatake and Jiraiya of the Sannin, jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi no Youko, and freshly minted sage, was doing his absolute best to concentrate on the nature chakra that he was currently gathering. But it was proving far more difficult than normal. Try as he might, he could not get his mind off of Konoha and the worry that he now felt for his home. When he left Konoha for his sage training, a messenger toad had been left behind to alert them of any developments. That same toad was now missing. Something was terribly wrong. And as Naruto sat in his trademark orange and black jumpsuit, spikey blonde hair blowing in a soft breeze, gathering nature chakra for the possible battle to come. He couldn't keep himself from fretting over the possibilities. Had the toad been captured by some enemy? Was something wrong with the contract? Was Konoha under attack? So many possibilities filled his head, and it was pushing his ability to meditate to its limit.

"Calm down, Naruto-chan. Ma has gone to investigate the situation, and she is capable of summoning our strongest fighters," came an old, calming voice next to him. Naruto slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to face the small form of Fukasaku, more affectionately known as Pa, next to him. The tiny, green skinned, white haired toad gave off a warm grandfatherly aura. But Naruto knew better than to underestimate him. Fukasaku was an elder toad, which meant that he was among the strongest and wisest that Mt. Myoboku had to offer. The fact that he had trained both Jiraiya and Naruto, only served to further elevate the elderly sage in the young ninja's mind. So, he calmed down.

"Sorry, Pa," Naruto apologized, showing no surprise at Fukasaku's arrival," I just hate sitting here, doing nothing while Konoha could be in serious trouble."

Fukasaku took in the sight of the young man before him. Naruto was growing at a staggering rate. In mere weeks, Naruto had mastered sage chakra, something even Jiraiya had not been able to accomplish in his extensive carrier as a shinobi. It did not surprise the old toad that the younger sage had not been startled at his sudden appearance. Between his meditating and his oneness with nature, the boy could probably sense every living thing on the mountain. The more that time passed, the more he was starting to believe that Naruto really was the child of prophesy. God, he hoped so. But despite all of those advances and all of that meditating, Fukasaku could still see the impatience in the clear blue eyes of his student. It figured, Naruto was very protective of his precious people, few as they were. It was unlikely that any amount of meditating would calm his nerves when those people were in danger. The toad sage sighed.

"I know Naruto-chan. But we must have faith in Ma. She will call us if something happens. And we must be ready if she does."

Naruto could only nod.

In Konoha…

A small poof of smoke signaled the arrival of Shima, also known as Ma. She stared in horror at the crater before her… right where Konoha should have been.

"No." The hoarse whisper left her mouth before she even thought it. The only evidence the village had been there at all was the Hokage Monument in the distance… and the ruble that rimmed the enormous crater. This level of destruction… she could only think of one man who could do such a thing. "_Pain." _The thought filled her with a rather uncharacteristic rage. Ma was, by nature, a kind and loving person…

"But this… this…. TRAVESTY!" She couldn't help but shout. Even from where she stood, she could see multiple bodies - some injured; others dead. And who knew how many more were buried under the destroyed buildings. And this wasn't some random town far away. This was Konoha! This was Jiraiya and Naruto's home – their precious treasure! That only made the attack that much more personal, and Shima that much more angry.

Shima began making her way to the center of what used to be a village. As she moved she began making a list of the warriors she wanted to summon. She would not just be summoning Naruto and Fukasaku, oh no. She was going to bring the full weight of Mt. Myoboku's wrath down on the monster responsible for this. She was going to need a lot of space for this, and Pain's attack had cleared out a fair amount of space. As she reached the center, she began the hand signs and let out a battle cry.

"**Summoning Jutsu**!"

…...

**Alright, I'm cutting it there. This seems like a good place to cut a chapter. It's a bit shorter than what I would like it to be, but it just feels like the end of the chapter. Meh, I'll just call it the prologue. Anyway, if I do keep writing this story, the first thing I will probably do is re-write this chapter.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Well, if you couldn't tell, I am going to continue the story. Really the responses were more positive than what I was expecting. Thanks for that. **

**To those who were asking about pairings. Don't worry. It won't be boyxboy. It will either be canon or NarutoxKatara. I haven't decided which yet. Either way, romance will only play a small role in the story.**

**I plan on using a sort of edited version of the Avatar story line. I'll take out some stuff, maybe add a couple of original adventures, and, of course, it will all be adjusted to account for our favorite knucklehead. At times, the characters will get a little OC-ish to fit the mood I want for the story but I'll try to keep it under control. **

**Again, thank you for the kind words.**

**Bold = summon/spirit/jutsu**

_Italics = thoughts/flashbacks_

**Now on with the show.**

…

People say that no battle plan survives contact with the enemy… and if General Zhao ever met one of those people, he would kick their asses and tell them to keep their opinions to themselves. HIS plan was going just fine thank-you-very-much. After years of research, politics, and climbing the proverbial ladder, he had finally gotten permission to build the largest fleet in Fire Nation history and launch an attack on the Northern Watertribe. He had even taken the opportunity to put that no good ex-prince in his place – he had enjoyed that. It had taken several more months to finish the attack force, but compared to the work that preluded it, that was nothing. And as he watched his almighty fleet descend on those weaklings who dared to call themselves benders, he knew that it had all been worth it. It had taken a couple days to break through the outer wall, even with his impressive army (it seemed the Northern Watertribe had survived 100 years of war with more than just luck); but it had fallen. The warriors inside were no less formidable; but he had numbers and the superiority of fire on his side. And now those warriors were on the retreat. All that was left was to make his way to the so called "sacred garden", kill the moon spirit, and claim the greatest victory since the destruction of the airbenders. And with that victory, he would gain his ultimate prize, a place in history. They would sing songs about him. There would be festivals in his honor! Parents would name their children after him WITH THE DREAM THAT THEIR CHILD MIGHT GROW TO BE JUST LIKE HIM! It wasn't immortality, but it was damn close.

So you can understand why he had a smile as he spoke. "Captain, gather your men. We're going fishing."

…

"No"

That was the only word to leave Katara's mouth. She could simply not believe how bad her luck had gotten – and so quickly too. The day had started off fairly well, invasion notwithstanding. Her friend Aang, better known as the Avatar, had managed to return from his attempt to stall the Fire Navy. It had ultimately ended in failure. But he had been able to go out and comeback alive, and even take out a few ships along the way. That was something she had been very grateful for. It seemed that, for being a peace keeper, being the Avatar tended to attract all kinds of trouble. Their little traveling group always seemed to wind up captured or on the verge of being captured, largely due to a certain obsessive banished prince. And between her, Aang, and her brother Sokka; Aang was always the one saving the day. When trouble struck, he would go out, do his "Avatar thing", and come back. All the while, she could do nothing but sit back and worry. She hated feeling useless like that. And, though she hadn't said anything, it was a large part of why she had been so adamant about getting training from Master Pakku. But despite her incredible advances in the art, she was still forced to watch as her dear friend went to fight while she did nothing. Even her brother had been assigned to protect the princess! How sad was that?

But Aang had returned. And she had felt so much better knowing that he was ok. Then Yue, the princess of the Northern Watertribe (and her brother's new crush) had made a rather brilliant suggestion. If the medium between the spirit world and the real world could not stop the Fire Nation, then maybe the spirits themselves could. It made sense. The spirits were forces of nature… literally. If anything had the power to stop the invasion, it would be them. AND they had the perfect go-between. So, with that in mind, Princess Yue had led them to a secret garden.

"This place has a strong connection with the spirit world. I thought, maybe, it could help Aang." The priestess had said.

She had been right. Aang had entered the spirit world and had left Katara in charge of watching his body. She had been secretly overjoyed to finally be useful. She could clearly remember the thoughts that went through her head as she waited on her friend.

_"Maybe all that training I did won't go to waste after all."_

_"I bet I could take on any one of the Fire Nation soldiers."_

_"Come on! I dare you to try something."_

God, she wished she could go back in time by about five minutes to slap herself! Because now she faced something far more dangerous than the Fire Navy.

"Yes," spoke the figure of one Prince Zuko, the one man who could ruin their plan, as he stepped out of the shadows.

The prince looked beyond Katara and straight at Aang as he spoke,"So the avatar is away from his body right now…That's good to know. Now why don't you be a good little girl and hand him over."

"Not on your life, Zuko!" yelled the waterbender as she took a defensive stance.

"It's not my life you should be worried about."Zuko coldly replied as he too assumed a fighting posture.

Both sides stared each other down as they each gauged the others resolve. Then, as one, they struck. Both sides began their attack at the same time, but Katara needed to draw the water from the nearby coy pond, a disadvantage Zuko did not have. That is why Zuko was able to strike first. With a simple thrust of his fist and a slight grunt, a gout of flame sprung from his hand and sped directly toward the young waterbender. Katara barely had time to move her freshly acquired water in front of the blast before it connected. The blast was intense and the water quickly evaporated. But Katara was not the weak little girl that Zuko remembered her as. She was graceful. She was talented. And most of all, she was dangerous. As quickly as the water evaporated, Katara condensed it and sent it to the fire prince in a quick whipping motion. She could still here Master Pokku's instructions in her head.

_"Water is not the most powerful element. Fire holds that title hands down. Water is not the most durable. The smallest stone can weather even the greatest of tidal waves. Neither is water the fastest element, for no one can outrun the wind. What water is; is more flexible than all of the other elements put together. No matter what obstical is place in front of it, it will always find a path. In the same way, you can always find a way to defeat your opponent. If you cannot outrun an airbender, coat his feet in ice. Use his speed against him. If you cannot break a stone wall, seep through the cracks and strike when he feels safest. If you cannot stop a firebender, redirect him. Let him waste his energy while you lead him further into your trap. To use your opponent's strength against them, that is the secret of waterbending!"_

Right! She couldn't overpower Zuko even with the moon adding to her power. So she would stall. Help would eventually arrive in one form or another. And she would make sure that when that help did arrive, Zuko would be too tired to fight back. Even as Zuko avoided her water-whip and she cried for Yue to "Get out of here!" and to "Go get help!", only to duck under the blade of fire that extended from Zuko's kick, she made a plan and set it into action. With each blow the duo exchanged, Katara began to slowly move Zuko into position, while being very careful to keep herself between him and Aang.

As she blocked yet another fire covered fist that was intent on knocking her head off, the more… feminine part of her brain couldn't help but to take note of the clothes that the fire prince was wearing. In the past, the angry teen had always worn a Fire Nation uniform when confronting them. Zuko was stuck on the fact the he was, or had been, a prince. And his clothing had reflected that. But now, he was wearing nothing of the sort. Now, he was dressed only in plain white clothes – no armor, no fancy decorations, just plain pants and a shirt. What had caused the sudden change? Maybe she would ask him once this was all over and he was behind bars. Further pondering on Zuko's fashion choices were put on hold as a final push from Katara's water forced him into position…right by the pond.

The entire time Katara had been setting her trap, the young firebender had been having his own thoughts about his opponent. She was far more skilled then he remembered. He still held the edge in skill, he believed; but it was a lot closer than it had been in their last confrontation. The water peasant was actually holding her own. True, between surviving Zhoa's trap and infiltrating the Northern Watertribe he was half dead already…but still! How could the gap close so quickly? Wasn't he born Fire Nation royalty? Hadn't he been training since he could walk? Shouldn't he be leagues ahead of this girl who supposedly lacked any formal training? Was his father right? Was he really that pathetic? No! He WOULD prove himself to his father! He WOULD reclaim his crown! And to start, he WOULD destroy the girl in front of him. With that thought in mind, he focused all of his attention on his opponent… in time to see her eyes widen briefly in a moment of sudden concentration.

Katara quickly began a flurry of motion as she sprung her trap. Water encircled Zuko and began to twist and spin and form a dome around him. In a matter of seconds the dome was complete and, with Katara's slow exhale of breath, hardened to trap its victim in an icy prison. As the last of the air left her lungs, Katara let some of the tension leave her shoulders. But she wasn't done. Without missing a beat, she began the next set of movements in preparation for her final attack.

"You little…Peasant! You've found yourself a master, haven't you?" Zuko screamed in rage. Even through the dome, Katara could tell that the royal was royally pissed. That theory was confirmed when the impromptu prison exploded, throwing fire and shards of ice into the air. But the jail break came too late and Katara was already launching her finishing move. Zuko could only watch as the massive wall of water the "peasant" had launched hit him square in the chest. He could only grunt and bear it as the wave slammed him against garden walls. And he could only dazedly wonder what had happened as the water froze, pinning him to the wall.

Katara let the last of the tension leave her body. The fight was over if the pained groans from Zuko were anything to go by. As she stood there, taking calming breaths, it began to sink in. She had won. SHE HAD WON! She, Katara, the poor girl from a poor tribe, had just defeated the prince of the Fire Nation! She could practically feel the content smile that broke out on her face; a smile that quickly faded with the rising of the sun. The fight had lasted all night. She turned when she heard Zuko give a small chuckle.

"Impressive. Your master trained you well. But this fight is over," Zuko said without raising his head, "Because where as you rise with the moon, I rise with the sun."

With each word he spoke, he warmed his breath with the technique his uncle had taught him, melting the ice. He could already feel his energy returning as he drew strength from the sun. By the time enough ice had melted for him to free himself, he felt as good as new. In fact, he felt better than when the fight began. Taking in a deep breath, he let loose the strongest blast that he could manage at the moment. Katara was quick to raise a water shield, but the overpowered attack was simply too much. She was tossed back by the ensuing explosion and abruptly lost consciousness when she met the ground; her last image being that of the enemy grabbing Aang by the collar and dragging him away.

….

So close. He was so very close now to his goal. So close , in fact, was General Zhao to achieving his dream that he could already hear the song they would compose in his honor. It would start with a loud fanfare, because HE had been destined for greatness from birth. Then it would slow down to represent his peaceful childhood. It would eventually begin to build as rise with him through the ranks of the military until it reached its apex representing his glorious victory of the pathetic waterbenders. Finally, it would slow down again as he lived happily-ever-after.

_"Heh, the tickets will probably sell out before-"_

"KABOOM!"

Zhao was ripped from his dreams of grandeur as an explosion sounded from the general direction of the city's outer wall. The wind tugged at his uniform as the shockwave passed.

_"To be able to feel the shockwave – even at this distance…That explosion must have been enormous…larger than anything our ships can produce. _"

Acting on instinct, he called out to one of his men. "Soldier, grab two of your men and come with me. We need to get to get a better view of what happened."

With a quick solute of "Sir!" the solider turned and quickly picked out a couple of men from their group and joined their leader as he made his way up the stairs of a nearby building. It only took seconds to reach the top, and it took even less time to find the origin of the blast. The giant cloud of smoke kind of made it easy. The fire general narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Hmm…that's strange…", he hummed thoughtfully.

The soldier that he had spoken to earlier gave him a confused look, "Sir?"

"Take a look at where the explosion went off." The man did as he was told. "If that explosion was anywhere near as big as it seemed, don't you think there would be at least some damage to the buildings around it?" The man looked again. The buildings were untouched. Or, at least they were no worse off than before the explosion. "And look at the smoke itself. It's pure white. There's no fire, no debris, no anything! Tell me, genius, what kind of explosive does that?"

"I don't know sir." The question had been rhetorical but the soldier answered anyway, because when a superior asks you a question…you answer.

"That's because there are no known explosives that do that; which means that this is something we have never seen before; which means that we need… to be…careful…" The end of his rant died as the smoke began to clear. When the last of the smoke dissipated, General Zhao and his men were left staring at something that their minds could not completely comprehend and quite frankly, scared them shitless. The loud rumbling voice didn't help much.

**"Huh? Where the hell are we?"**

….

Katara awoke to the sound of her brother's voice. "..tara… Katara! ...Can… hear me…Katara wake up!" She slowly opened her eyes to see a familiar ponytail floating above her. She groaned.

"Ugn… Sokka…?"

"Oh thank God!" her brother exclaimed as he hugged her tight, "What happened?"

Katara hugged him closer as she tried to explain, "It was Zuko! He came and took Aang – and – and," she was visibly choking back a sob," and I couldn't stop him!"

Sokka held his little sister close and rubbed her back soothingly. "It's ok, we'll get him back. Zuko can't have gotten far," he said, earning a nod of acceptance. Katara wiped away the tears that had been building in her eyes.

"You're right, Sokka. We should-"

"KABOOM!"

**"Huh? Where the hell are we?"**

"W-what was THAT?" stuttered Katara. That boom, it had been so loud. And what on earth was that voice? What was going on out there?

"I don't know. And we don't have time to find out," Sokka spoke while simultaneously dragging the other Southern Watertribe member towards to where the giant flying bison, Appa, was waiting,"Aang needs our help. Whatever crazy thing is going on out there will have to wait." Katara gave a slightly reluctant nod as she turned her focus back to finding her friend. Sokka was right…for once.

….

Even as he glared out with the yellow, red rimmed eyes of a sage, a small childish part of him couldn't help but to think about how cool he must look right now. Heroically posed with arms crossed; standing on top of his old friend Gamakichi, who was standing on the mountain sized toad boss (who also happened to be his dad) Gamabunta; red sage cloak fluttering in the wind like the black flames that decorated the bottom and sleeves, only tamed by the large scroll on his back; and surrounded by the strongest fighters from Mt. Myoboku had to offer; Naruto Uzumaki figured that he cut quite the impressive figure. Whoever it was that was attacking Konoha was probably shaking in fear. But wait…

"**Huh? Where the hell are we?"** Gamabunta voiced the question before he could. Last time he checked, the Land of Fire was not this cold. And he definitely would have remembered Konoha being carved out of ice. Wasn't Ma supposed to summon them to Konoha? Wait… where was Ma?

Fukasaku, who was sitting on his shoulder, must have sensed Naruto's growing unease because he spoke up, "Calm down, Naruto-chan."

"Pa? Where are we? Why weren't we summoned to Konoha? Where's Ma?" Question after question left the confused blonde's mouth.

"I don't know Naruto-chan. It would seem the summoning jutsu has malfunctioned and taken us somewhere else entirely… and landed us in the middle of a battle," the old toad finished with a sweatdrop.

That statement had Naruto looking around. Instead of Konoha, they had appeared at the edge of a large city that appeared to be completely made of ice. Their backs were facing the city, and in front of them was a vast ocean littered with icebergs as well as hundreds of some kind of metal ships. Looking back to the city, the signs of battle were obvious. Several buildings were either damaged or destroyed. All around him were what he guessed were soldiers in different colored uniforms. Whatever fight they had just poofed into was fierce, or had been. The fight had stalled upon their arrival, and now every last pair of eyes were on them. Most seemed content to simply stand there and stair. Others began to slowly back away. But one poor, unfortunate, and probably newly instated captain saw fit to panic.

"What are you all doing? Fire! Fire! Fire!" And they did. The on-board trebuchet was directed toward the big red frog in the center and a shot was prepped. Whatever they thought would happen when that shot left its home in the sling; it was not for the target to swat away the projectile with an indignant **"Hey!"** And they most certainly did not expect the giant webbed foot that came crashing down on their ship. The metal moaned as it easily buckled under the massive weight.

Fukasaku sighed and shook his head, "And now it seems we have become a part of the battle." Gamabunta had the decency to look sheepish at the indirect reprisal. Naruto just shrugged, having been secretly planning to join the fight anyway. Even as a sage, he was not one to sit back and watch a fight. Plus, he really didn't like the machines that those guys in red armor were using. They felt so… unnatural.

A grin spread across his face. "Right, well let's get started! I still gotta save my village after all!" And with that, the fight was back on.

…...

General Zhao was an arrogant bastard. Everyone knew that. But even he was frightened by the beasts that were now destroying his precious fleet. Maybe the spirits had heard of his plans to kill one of their own and this was them fighting back? After all, he could only think of so many reasons for three giant toads to literally poof into existence, already looking ready to do battle (where did they find weapons that big?). As he watched some of his ships be cut in two by a red toad wielding a knife; some having their hulls shredded by a blue skinned toad with dual katana; and still others being crushed by the grey toad and his staff; he considered the implications that this had for his invasion. The monsters had appeared between him and his fleet, which meant that he would lose his steady supply of fresh troops. His men would tire, and the invasion would stall. Then, without the constant threat of the trebuchets, the Watertribe would be free to organize a counter-attack and drive them out. Lastly, and perhaps most devastating, each ship destroyed was a getaway vehicle lost. With each passing minute defeat was becoming more certain and escape was becoming more unlikely. He needed to make a choice now! Luckily the correct choice was obvious.

"Keep moving! We need to reach the garden!"

Then again, he WAS an arrogant bastard…

If Zhao had looked a little closer, he would have noticed that ships would occasionally explode and sink, seemingly of their own accord. Had he looked even closer than THAT, he would have seen that the ships were actually being sunk by a much smaller toad and a blonde haired teen. He would have also noticed that the blonde had a smile on his face.

….

Another explosion threw water into the air as Naruto thrust his hand forward with a shout of "**Sage Art: Big Ball Rasengan**!" sending yet another ship to the bottom of the ocean. He had to admit he was having fun. All of the waiting on Myoboku had really stressed him out. Just standing around while his home was in danger had been driving him insane! He was still worried of course. But whatever conflict he had landed himself in provided the perfect excuse to break stuff; relieving his stress and occupying his mind at the same time.

_"But damn there are a lot of these guys." _He thought as he avoided another fire blast. Now that he thought about it, he had only had to avoid a couple of blasts so far, despite the number of ships he was sinking. Most of the men that saw him running up on the water just stood there with open mouths as he sank there ship. _"You would think that they had never seen a ninja before…nah." _He spun up another **Rasengan** and sank another battleship. Lather, rinse, repeat.

….

Elsewhere, the Watertribe siblings were returning from their rescue mission, Avatar and captured fire prince in tow. Prince Zuko had managed to travel and impressive distance considering he was on foot and dragging a hostage around. By the time they had found him, night had fallen and Aang was making his escape. Thankfully, with the moon back out, Katara had regained her advantage and had managed to knock the exhausted Zuko out in one move. They tied up Zuko to take with them (with much protest from Sokka), and began their trip back. On the way Aang had filled them in on the information that he had gained in the spirit world. Apparently the enemy's plans were even more terrible than what they had imagined. To actually kill the moon spirit… it would not only put a permanent end to waterbending, but it would throw the balance of nature so far off that it might never recover. Now, as they rushed to prevent such a catastrophe, each member of team avatar was lost in their own thoughts of the situation.

Katara was thinking about her bried confrontation with Prince Zuko. For as long as she had known Aang, Zuko had been right there, hunting them. For that same amount of time he had seemed like some kind of unstoppable force. Aang had been the only one capable of beating him. Sometimes it felt like they spent more time running from him than actually fighting him. And no more than ten minutes ago she had beaten that same force in one move! She honestly wasn't sure how she was supposed to feel right now. She thought that she would feel happier than this. She had proven her strength and rescued her friend from a hated enemy. But somehow the victory felt hollow and she couldn't understand why.

Sokka's thoughts were far less deep. Most of his attention was consumed with worrying for the safety of Princess Yue. When the white haired princess had found him with word that his little sister was fighting Zuko, he had left her unprotected in his worry. Protecting her had been his job, his duty. If anything happened to her, it would be his fault and he wasn't sure he could live with the guilt. He yipped at Appa, signaling him to go faster.

Aang's thoughts were on a slightly darker path. He hadn't told his friends everything that he had heard from the spirits. There was one particular tidbit of information that he had left out – mostly because he didn't understand it himself. He had been discussing the identities of the ocean and moon spirits with Koh the Face Stealer when a wave of… something and passed through the air. Koh had stopped mid riddle and stared into space for several minutes before speaking again.

**"And now it seems that there is a new threat. You should be careful, Avatar. Things are bound to get messy before too long. Now go, you're boring me."**

What worried him the most was the fear that he could have sworn was on the ancient spirit's face. Koh was one of the oldest spirits alive and was capable of matching the Avatar in open combat, and whatever he had seen had scared HIM. What did that mean for the rest of the world? Nothing good he was sure.

…

Here it was. After so long, so many years of sacrifice and hard work, he was finally standing in the sacred garden that held the ocean and moon spirits. It seemed like a life time ago when he had found those scrolls containing the identities of the spirits' mortal forms, and decided that he would be the one to kill them.

_"It's their own damn fault. Why would you take the form of a fish if you didn't want to be killed?" _Zhao thought dryly as he approached the black and white fish in the center pond. Reaching down, he swept the white fish into a bag and pulled it from the water. He watched with an insane glee as the moon was dyed red, bathing the land in an eerie glow.

"YES! This is it! With this victory I will claim my rightful place in history! I will be a legend! They will call me things like Zhao the Conqueror, Zhao the Moon Slayer, Zhao the INVICIBLE!"

"More like Zhao the Loser!"

"Who said that?" questioned the enraged general as he looked for the obnoxious voice that dared to interrupt his speech.

"Up here, moron!" Sokka called from atop Appa as the group descended. Aang, not liking the look in Zhao's eyes, jumped out before the giant bison touched the ground.

"Wait, Zhao! You don't want to do this. If you kill the moon spirit you won't JUST be hurting the

Watertribe, you'll be hurting everyone." He spoke slowly, raising his hands in a non-threatening manner. Zhao's men turned to face the Avatar and he turned his attention back to his "hostage".

"You should listen to the Avatar, General." Zhao looked for the source of the aged, slightly scratchy voice and found it in the form of an overweight man with a grey beard and balding head. But the man exuded an air of authority that left no question about his power.

"Iroh… how did I know that you would turn traitor? What's the matter? Are you scared?" The mad-man asked mockingly. A couple of the solders ripped their eyes off of Aang to defend against the new threat.

"I'm no traitor, Zhao. The Fire Nation needs the moon as much as everyone else. We all depend on the balance."

"You always were an old coward – too scared to take action. That's why you lost at Ba Sing Se." Zhao spoke with a cruel grin, "that's why you lost your son." He made a fireball in his hand and slowly moved it toward the bag.

"ZHAO!" This time Iroh yelled with the full weight of his years of experience in leadership and combat in his voice, "I'm warning you! Whatever you do to that fish, I will unleash upon you a thousand fold! Let it go NOW!"

General Zhao eyed the opponents on either side of him. He knew enough about Iroh to know that he would go through with that threat. And between Iroh and the Avatar, he wasn't sure he could win. In perhaps the sanest decision he had made since the invasion began several days ago, he slowly and begrudgingly lowered the fish back into the water. As the fish escaped out of the bag that had contained it, the moon began to regain its pale hue until it was completely restored to its original state. Everyone (even Zhao's men) breathed a sigh of relief.

_"No no no! I've come to far now! No one will stand between me and glory!"_

By the time the others recognized the crazed sneer on the general's face, his hand was already descending in a swinging chop. At the apex of the chop, a jet of fire sprang across the surface of the water. The moon went dark even as the cries of "Stop!" and "No!" were leaving everyone's mouths.

"You fool!" Iroh tried to strike the mad-man but was blocked by his guards, who quickly surrounded him. The pitch black darkness that had enveloped the area was pierced by a series of flashes that revealed the 4-to-1 fight between firebenders. Team Avatar had run to the koi pond the instant the fight began, so that left no one to notice that a reeling Zhoa had slipped away along with a certain captive prince.

The fighting died down quickly with Iroh displaying the skill that earned him the title "Dragon of the West". When the last of his opponents had been disposed of, he joined those that remained around the now lifeless moon spirit. No one seemed bothered by the close proximity to someone who should have been a mortal enemy. They all had other things on their minds.

"So that's it then. It's all over…" Katara spoke in a defeated whisper. All but one nodded in response. Aang was too busy listening to the voice that was whispering in his head.

_**"It will not end like this. Take my power, young Avatar, and drive out those that would bring harm to this world."**_

Before Aang could even respond, he felts himself enter the avatar state. The knowledge and power of a thousand lifetimes flowed into him as his eyes and tattoos began to glow. Taking a step out onto the water, he spoke in the layered tones of the Avatar's ultimate defense mechanism,** "No, it is not over."**

The others looked on as Aang reached the center of the pond and suddenly disappeared under the water and the water began to glow. The light spread until it enveloped the whole of the garden, then seemed to shift as it migrated outward toward the city. Once free of the garden walls, the water rose up to form the shape of what could only be described as a giant fish with arms with Aang suspended in a ball of ice where the heart would be. Aang shifted his body as if to move forward and the water form copied him, moving down the river that flowed through the center of the city and into the ocean; all the while wiping out those that the voice, which he had now identified as the spirit of the ocean, recognized as hostile.

….

None of those in the sacred garden paid attention to the awe inspiring display of power. Their undivided attention was given solely to the retired general and the burned fish in his hands. Iroh gave a great sigh. Even in the darkness, the sad expression he wore was plain for all to see.

"There's nothing I can do." He said, gingerly putting the fish back into the water.

"If you can't do anything, maybe I can." Came a soft voice from the garden entrance.

"Yue? What are you doing here? It's too dangerous here. You need to go."

"It's ok, Sokka. I came here because I think I know of a way to revive the moon spirit. You see, I was born sick and on the verge of death, I didn't even have the strength to cry. In desperation, my father prayed to the spirits, begging them to save my life. At the end of the prayer, he dipped me in this very pond. As he did, my hair turned white and the color returned to my skin. When I began to cry, he knew that I would survive." The princess never took her eyes off of Sokka's as she told her tale.

Iroh's own eyes widened in realization. "You've been touched by the moon spirit. Some of its life-force is in you!"

Yue looked away and nodded, "Yes. All of those years ago the moon spirit gave me life. Now it's time for me to give it back."

"What? No!" Sokka shot forward and grabbed her, "Yue, you can't! You'll die! There has to be another way!"

Yue gave him a gentle smile and placed a hand on his cheek. "It'll be ok Sokka. I think… somewhere deep down I always knew this would happen. And if giving my life means saving yours then how can I refuse?"

"B-but I was supposed to protect you! You can't die!" Sokka couldn't hold back his tears. So he didn't try.

Princess Yue didn't reply this time. She just leaned forward and pressed her lips to his in a final kiss. Knowing but still not accepting Yue's decision, he passionately returned the favor. Pulling away she whispered in his ear.

"I love you Sokka." And with that, she moved to sit next to Iroh by the pond. The retired general gave no words of wisdom or condolence as she lowered her hands onto the lifeless spirit. He only watched in respect as the young princess gave her spirit to save that which should have been immortal. Both bodies were blocked from view as they were engulfed in a bright light. When the light cleared, a healthy white coy was swimming freely in the pond… and Yue was nowhere to be seen. The light returned as the moon was brought back to life. But there was no celebration. All that were present merely lowered their heads in a moment of silence for the fallen hero.

…...

The path that the Avatar/ocean spirit carved was easy to follow. All along their trail to the ocean, those of the Watertribe prostrated themselves before a patron spirit of their art. Those of the Fire Nation either tried to attack or run of what action they took however, they were easily swept away in a torrent of water, purging the city of its invaders. He was glad when the moon light returned but was surprised when he reached the ocean. He expected to see a fleet of battle ships awaiting him outside the city walls, not a blonde haired teen surrounded by three toads that easily matched him in size, as well as a much smaller toad sitting on his shoulder.

Thinking this was some bizarre Fire Nation weapon, he prepared to attack again. Again the ocean spirit spoke, _**"Wait! I sense no evil intentions from him. Look around him. It seems, while you were indisposed, he was fighting in your stead. You can trust him for now."**_

Looking at the wreckage that surrounded the teen, Aang agreed with a nod and allowed the ocean spirit to withdraw its power. The spirit was considerate enough to place him back on land instead of just dropping him in the water. Before the last of the mental link was broken, he heard the ocean give one last piece of advice, _**"Be wary though. I sense a strange power about him. It could be dangerous."**_

Alone in his head again, Aang first looked up at the moon, then at the mystery teen. Said teen was currently staring him down. Without breaking eye contact, the blond gave a slight nod and all but the toad on his shoulder disappeared in a "poof". Again without breaking eye contact, he dropped the several stories between his former perch on the toad's head to the ground. After landing with more grace than what should have been possible, he calmly approached the Avatar. The blonde spoke as soon as he was close enough.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?"

…...

**So there you have it. 1 week, 12 pages, and 6,270 words later and I finally have a chapter. I have no idea how everyone else does this. Only one full chapter and I'm already exhausted. But it is fun. The next chapter will be about finishing the invasion and getting the gang traveling together. I don't know how long it will take to post but look forward to it, and in the mean time, review. What did you like? What didn't you like? Let me know.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Sorry it took a bit to update. Lots of tests popped up all at once and I didn't feel up to writing for a few days afterwards. **

**Ahh, you guys are gonna make be blush with all the nice things you say. Thanks for the reviews, it means a lot.**

**Sundanc: you get the award for longest review. You make a good point about Katara being too motherly (between you and me, I plan on having a part of the story where she finds out about Naruto's orphan backround and goes all motherhen for a little while.) But I must disagree about it eliminating them as a potential pair. Neither Hinata nor Sakura exactly match Naruta's personality but it works for them. But, like I said, I still haven't decided. Naruto may get Katara, Ty Lee, or nobody if I send him back to his world at the end. I'll have to think about the Kyuubi thing. I always liked the bit of suspense that it added when Naruto could lose control in a fight. I'll see if I can't find some sort of compromise.**

**Sacredpenwriter: Konoha was obviously still attacked by Pain and destroyed. I haven't decided on who lives or dies yet and probably won't for a while. I'm holding onto it for a plot device later.**

**Rinnala: Yah… I should probably get a beta. Truth is, my spelling has always sucked and probably always will. It was a large part of why I was hesitant to write this fic in the first place. But, if you point out the spelling flaws, I will be quick to fix them.**

**The most common concern, other than pairings, was what is keeping Naruto from returning. I thought for a good long while and I think that I have a decent amount of BS now. Hopefully it will be good enough to satisfy.**

….

Things had been stranger than normal for Naruto lately – and that's saying something. It had all started when the **summoning jutsu **that was supposed to take them to Konoha had instead dropped them somewhere else entirely. Oh, did he mention that that somewhere had been right in the middle of an invasion? Well… it had. And being Naruto Uzumaki he had, of course, been dragged into it almost immediately. Now he could accept all this. He didn't understand it, but he could accept it. It was the things that came after that he couldn't quite stomach.

A couple of hours into the fighting, Naruto had noticed something that was downright odd. His newly discovered enemies, the weirdoes in pointy red armor that were throwing fireballs around like candy, were doing so without the use of handsigns! Sure some jutsu like the Rasengan didn't need handsigns, but that was because they involved the manipulation of pure chakra. And jutsu like that were few and far in-between. To be able to cast fire jutsu without the aid of handsigns had to take some kind of bloodline limit. But in all of his travels with Jiriaya, he had never heard of a place with anyone, much less a whole army of people that could do anything close to what he was seeing. He kept fight though, and had soon made another discovery. The enemy, whoever they were, favored quantity over quality. Most of the soldiers seemed undisciplined and their fire was uncoordinated. Several of them were just firing in uncontrolled, panicked blasts. He was pretty sure most of them would only be low to mid-chuunin level in Konoha – even with the advantage of their seal-less jutsu; which meant that they all paled in comparison to him and his sage mode. Maybe if he was using just normal chakra they could overwhelm him… Regardless, they still had numbers on their side, and he wound up using both of the clones that he had set aside to gather nature chakra to keep going. Even then, he still ran out of nature chakra long before the enemy ran out of ships, and was forced to let the toads take over most of the fighting.

But all of that had quickly been forgotten on the second night of fighting… when the moon had turned red – blood red! And then it had gone out! It didn't wax or wane. It just dimmed like a dying candle! There was no way that that could be anything but bad. The darkness that had settled over the battlefield was unsettling. That clinging darkness, broken only by the scattered fires that cast creepy shadows over the destruction, recreated the feeling of haunted ruins quite nicely. It had taken a lot of willpower not to start freaking out then and there – he still hated ghosts to this day. He wasn't alone in his misery though. The blue skinned frog (he really should try to learn her name) was apparently afraid of the dark, and had been rather nonplussed by the sudden lack of light. The ensuing tantrum had destroyed ten ships before the darkness lifted.

Fortunately for everyone, a new light source entered the scene; bringing with it the fourth and the strangest part of this whole experience. Looking towards the center of the city that he had just been defending, he could clearly see a large, glowing form looming over the buildings. To him, it resembled a giant fish. Its entire body seemed to be made of water and was covered in odd glowing lines that converged at a point on its chest.

_ "Well, at least I'll know where to aim…" _he remembered thinking to himself. The appearance of the creature had apparently stunned the enemy into a cease fire, and Naruto was able to watch it slowly march down the center of city. Every couple of steps, it would swing an arm and Naruto could just make out the waves that were created. It didn't take a strong imagination to picture the havoc such waves must have been producing. The question was: which side was it wreaking havoc on? The fact that it wasn't destroying even MORE buildings suggested that it was on his side. But he was assuming too much. Even if it was attacking the red guys, that didn't mean that it was fighting for the blue guys. And if it was fighting for the blue guys, there was no reason to assume that they would consider him an ally, even after all the fighting he had done for them. As the creature drew closer, Naruto found that he could make out a dot at the point where the glowing lines met. That dot grew into a large sphere with every step that the beast took and it wasn't long until he could make out the figure of a boy in that sphere. Was the boy controlling it? Was the whole thing some obscenely powerful jutsu?

The moonlight had returned as the beast/boy/jutsu arrived at the outer wall, eliciting a different reaction from each side. Naruto and his toad allies had all relaxed ever so slightly as the light returned and the "haunted" battlefield had transformed back into a regular one. The invador's, apparently taking the moon's return as a sign of defeat, began to turn their ships around and beat a hasty retreat. The mystery boy just looked up at the moon, smiled, then focused on the young blond. For a moment, the boy had seemed ready to strike and the warriors of Mt. Myoboku had prepared to defend themselves. After a few seconds of tension, the boy had suddenly nodded and the water that surrounded him had begun to recede. Naruto took this as a sign of non-aggression and so had Fukasaku, apparently.

"Gamabunta-chan, you and the others dispel yourselves for now." The elder toad spoke as he resumed his place on the younger sage's shoulder. "I will stay behind with Naruto-chan while we sort things out." The chief toad looked to his summoner for conformation. Though a summon could, and often would, dismiss themselves; and while he would normally follow an order from Fukasaku without question, this was a very tricky situation and he wanted to be sure that the blonde would be ok without him.

Naruto had not missed the hint of uncertainty in the older sage's voice when he spoke of dispelling the summons. Was he worried that they could be walking into a trap? No, if so, he would have had the others simply back off rather than going back to Myoboku. So then what? The only other possible explanation would be that he was worried about the teleportation itself. Maybe he was worried that it would malfunction again? Yah, that had to be it. Doubts temporarily suspended, Naruto gave his consent in the form of a small nod of the head. Almost instantly, he felt the "ground" beneath him vanish and gravity took its effect. As he fell the multiple stories from Gamabunta's height to sea level, he went back over the things that had happened over the last 24 hours or so – the **summoning jutsu** gone wrong, the sudden conflict, the mysterious seal-less jutsu, the moon, and the weird kid that could somehow create a monster equal in size to the toad boss – and found himself more frustrated and confused with each one. And it was these emotions that prompted the first, rather undiplomatic words that left his mouth…

"What the hell is going on here?"

…

It had been three hours since he had posed the question, two hours and fifty minutes since he had been surrounded by the very people he had been protecting, two and a half hours since (under Fukasaku's advice) he had let himself be taken prisoner, and two mind numbing hours since they had begun interrogating him… the ungrateful bastards.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" demanded the aged man in front of him. By the way he spoke and the respect that the other men showed him, he guessed that the old man was the leader. The fact that the others referred to him as "Chief Arnook" helped. Naruto humphed and pouted slightly (he had asked his question first, damn it – and how many times were they going to ask the same question?) but answered in an aggravated tone.

"For the millionth time, my name is Naruto Uzumaki. I'm a genin shinobi of Konohagakure. I was brought here when a **summoning jutsu** malfunctioned. Now would you mind UNTIEING ME?" Even though he was following shinobi POW protocol and being very careful to only give minimal information beyond his name and village of origin, he had run out of patience long ago and yelled the last part as he pulled at the chains that bound him to his seat. Several of the guards in the room visibly tensed at the movement. Naruto blinked. He had just yanked at the confines for emphasis. Did they really think he was trying to escape? Hell, if he was going to make an escape attempt, he would have done it before now – BEFORE he was chained down and surrounded in unknown territory, for example. Arnook motioned for the guards to stand down.

"Enough of this nonsense!" he bellowed, "Listen here, young man. You popped up in the middle of one the greatest crises we have ever faced. I could easily label you as a Fire Nation soldier and throw you into the deepest, darkest prison that I can find. If you don't want this to happen, I suggest that you STOP making obvious lies and START giving us the truth." He finished with a glare. He knew that he was probably being overly harsh with the person who, if the reports that were coming in were reliable, had been almost entirely responsible for stopping the fleet of enemy ships and buying the precious time needed to organize a counter offense; but he had just lost his daughter the night before and was in no mood for games.

"But I am telling the truth!" shouted Naruto in indignant protest.

"Oh?" Arnook raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "Then would mind explaining why none of us have even heard of any of this?" Genin, Konohagakure, jutsu, where was he pulling these random words from. Surely the boy could come up with a more convincing lie than this.

"I believe I may have the answer to that." An elderly voice spoke up. All of the non-ninja in the room stared somewhat dumbly at the small green toad that had just spoken. They had all noticed the strange creature perched on the blonde's shoulder but had assumed that it was just some strange pet. Before they could fully rap their minds around the concept of a talking toad, the younger sage was speaking.

"You know what's going on Pa?" inquired a hopeful Naruto.

Closing his eyes, Fukasaku nodded. "I have a guess." He gave his fellow sage an appraising look, gauging his student's ability to handle the proverbial bomb that he was about to drop, "I believe that we may no longer be in the Elemental Nations – or in the same world, for that matter."

Naruto blinked, "Come again?"

"You heard me Naruto-chan,"Fukasaku continued calmly, "I believe that Ma's **summoning jutsu **left us in a different world from our own."

"B-but that should be impossible shouldn't it? I mean, I've never heard of a jutsu being able to do anything like that."

"Naruto-chan, do you know why space-time jutsu like the **summoning jutsu** are considered the most advanced jutsu in the world?" at Naruto's negative head shake, the old toad continued, "It is not because the create a lot of damage or kill a lot of people; it is because they are meant to bend the very nature of space and time itself. To do such a thing requires unbelievable amounts of knowledge, technique, power, and no small amount of luck. That is why there are so few space-time jutsu in existence; there are too few shinobi who are both brilliant and powerful enough to make new ones. And we still do not fully comprehend the few that DO exist. No one knows what a space-time justsu is truly capable of. It is quite possible that a **summoning jutsu** with enough power could connect with another world, and summoning all of our strongest warriors at once would require a tremendous amount of power."

Naruto adopted a thinking pose, eyes squinted in concentration. "Hmmm… So, if the **summoning jutsu **got us here in the first place… can't we just use it to get back?" he inquired hopefully.

"It's not that simple. Up until this point, there has been no recorded incident like this. We have no way of knowing what will happen if you try to cross worlds again. You could land in the middle of Iwa, or yet another world or you could even disappear altogether."

"But you sent the others back! Come on Pa! I need to get back to Konoha!" Naruto shouted. He had been here too long already - his friends needed him goddamn it! Panic was setting in now and filling his mind with visions of a burning village.

"I know, my boy, I know," the old sage said calmingly, "but the others were allowed to return because of the summoning contract." Fukasaku sighed at the blonde's confused look and continued his explanation, "Listen carefully. All of the summoning contracts currently in existence are all based off of one original space-time jutsu and serve the same basic purpose. Each contract acts as an anchor for the summon, constantly drawing it back to its home. When a creature is summoned, it must provide a constant stream of chakra to fight that pull and remain in the battle. That is why we can dismiss ourselves with little effort regardless of the chakra required to get us there in the first place, and why a defeated summon will disappear instead of remaining behind. As soon as the chakra flow is stopped, we are returned home. The others could return because that is the natural end of the jutsu. You don't have that benefit. To return you to Konoha or even Mt. Myoboku would mean performing another jutsu. And, as I said before, we simply don't know what would happen if we did that. Do you understand now?"

Naruto, who had promptly resumed his thinking pose after his outburst, nodded slowly, "I think so. So, the **summoning jutsu **is like a rubber band. When I summon someone, it's like stretching the 'rubber band'; then, when the jutsu is released, it's like letting the 'rubber band' go."

Fukasaku nodded his head approvingly. "Very good. That is an excellent way to put it. Don't worry. We will find a way to reduce the risk and get you back to Konoha. Until then, have faith in your home and have faith in your friends. The will of fire is strong and the village will not fall so easily."

Naruto couldn't stop the smile that spread across his face. The will of fire, the Sandaime had always said that that was what made Konoha strong - that, so long as even one person held onto that will, The Village Hidden in the Leaves would never fall. Naruto chuckled a little to himself. He felt foolish for forgetting the lessons that his teachers had worked so hard to instill in him. He took a few calming breaths. The village would survive as it had so many times before. All he needed to worry about was getting home and being in fighting shape when he got there.

A sudden motion on his left caught his attention. He turns his head to look at the three people that had just entered the room. The first was a ponytailed young man that was apparently close to him in age. His tanned skin and blue clothing painted him as an obvious native. Naruto could see the outline of some sort of weapon under the young man's coat but showed no other signs of being a fighter. His posture lacked the distinct refinement that marked a profession fighter. And, even with the bulky winter coat that he wore, it was easy to see that he was on the scrawny side. Naruto shivered. He really needed to get one of those coats.

Next was a girl that looked so similar to the first boy that he could only assume that the two were related – brother and sister probably. She had long braided hair in the same color as her supposed brother. She was pretty, Naruto thought. There was a certain gentleness to her that he couldn't help but find comforting. But he could also see something more dangerous about her. Her movements held a certain grace to them. He wasn't sure if she was a warrior (she lacked the… predatory feeling tha kunoichi always gave him) but she at least new how to fight.

It was the third person that caught his attention, however. Clearly younger than the other two, bald, with blue arrow tattoos covering his body, the young sage would recognize him anywhere. Before him stood the boy he had seen performing that amazing jutsu the night before. If Naruto was honest with himself, he had found that little display of power slightly disturbing; or rather, where that power must have come from. The only people that he could think of that could produce the same amount of power that the kid had at such a young age was jinchuuriki. He really didn't want to believe that such dark practices would exist in this world as well but power like that doesn't grow on trees. His thoughts were diverted from their dark path when the ponytailed boy stepped forward.

"Sokka, what are you doing?" the only female asked in a worried tone, her eyes darting between her brother and the blonde chained to his seat. Sokka ignored his sister's inquiry in favor of looking over the small toad before him, before slowly reaching out for an experimental poke.

"It's… real!" he exclaimed, going in for another touch, "But it just talked. How is that possible?"

Fukasaku swatted away the curious boy with a huff. "I assure you I am quit real, young'n. As is my head, my arm, and any other part of me you wish to prod at." The other two stepped up as well; Katara giving her brother a thump on the head.

"Ow-"

"Sorry about my brother. He tends to let his curiosity get the best of him. My name is Katara, this is Aang, and the one who doesn't know anything about personal space is Sokka" The young waterbender gestured to each member of the group in turn.

"Oh come-on! You have to admit that it's weird! Animals don't talk!"

"Right, and bison don't fly and people aren't kidnapped by spirits. Face it, Sokka; compared to some of the stuff we've seen, a talking animal is practically normal."

Aang nodded his agreement, "She has a point, Sokka. We do get into some pretty weird situations."

Naruto gave an awkward chuckle, "My name is Naruto Uzumaki and this is Fukasaku. And don't worry about it. Most people tend to get a little freaked out when they meet a summon for the first time."

There was an awkward silence as the teens gave him a dubious look until Sokka spoke up again, "Right… are we supposed to know what that is?" Naruto subconsciously began to reach up to scratch the back of his head, but the nervous habit was halted by the chains. The motion drew the group's attention to his restraints.

"Hey, why are you all chained up? I thought you helped fight the invasion…"

A rough cough forced everyone to turn to the Water Tribe chief, who had developed a rather noticeable eye twitch.

_"They completely forgot about me. I threaten to throw him in prison and he completely ignores me. What's wrong with kids these days?"_

Seeing that he had the teens' attention Arnook spoke, "He is chained up for our own security. And until he decides to stop with this 'other world' nonsense he will stay that way. In fact, I was just thinking some time in jail might help him get his story straight…"

"My story is straight, Old Man! It's not my fault you don't listen!"

"Wait," Katara interjected, "what's this about another world?"

Arnook sent the captive shinobi a scathing look. "The boy's… companion seems to think that they are from a different world than our own. He's obviously hiding something. And with the tribe already in a crisis, I refuse to let a potential threat just roam the city unsupervised."

Aang looked back and forth between the chief and the ninja as he considered the situation. On one hand, Chief Arnook made a very good point. The attack had left the Watertribe severely weakened and the story DID sound a little farfetched. On the other hand, the blonde had helped. Not to mention that the ocean spirit had even said that he didn't have any ill intentions. He stared for another minute before deciding to take the risk.

"I think we should let him go." The statement drew various reactions from those around him. While his friends merely gave him questioning looks, Chief Arnook looked both confused and angry. The blonde – Naruto, he remembered – was giving him a grateful smile. He certainly seemed nice enough.

"You can't seriously believe him." Arnook's anger and frustration showed in his voice and Aang felt for the man. His home had just been attacked and he had lost his daughter in the process. Heck, with everything that was going on, the father probably hadn't even had time to properly grieve yet.

He raised his hands in a calming gesture. "I'm not saying that I do. But he did help fight off the Fire Nation and, while I don't usually like to play the Avatar card, the ocean spirit did say that he was ok." THAT made Arnook stop and think. The moon (he cringed at the thought of what had happened to his daughter) and ocean spirits were the patriarchs of all waterbenders and, in turn, his tribe. If one of them was willing to vouch for the boy… it was hard to ignore. But still…

Seeing the chief's uncertainty Aang decided to try for a compromise. "Look, what if we watch him for you? You untie him and we keep an eye on him and then take him with us when we leave?"

Before the chief could respond Aang was pulled away by his companions, Katara uttering a brief "Excuse us for a second," as they formed a huddle. "Aang are you sure about this?" Katara asked as soon as she joined the other too.

"Yah, what if Chief Arnook is right? The Fire Nation could have left him behind as a spy when they realized that they were losing. He pretends to help, earns our trust, waits until the right moment, then BAM, he has the Avatar on a silver platter."

"I wasn't thinking quit so paranoid but we really don't know anything about him. It feels like a pretty big risk."

Aang looked at his two friends and could see the worry in their eyes. They were just looking out for him as good friends should. He smiled at the thought. "Look guys. I know it's sudden, and I know his story sounds a little weird," he could have sworn he heard Sokka mumble something that sounded like "A little?", "But you didn't see the damage that he made. He's really strong and we could use all the help that we can get if we're gonna stop the Fire Lord before the comet gets here. Plus, he really did help a lot. It doesn't seem right to keep him locked up like this. At the very least, we should take him somewhere he won't immediately be thrown into jail." His friends were quiet for another minute before Katara spoke.

"Alriight, Aang, if you think that it's what's best; then I'll believe you."

Sokka just sighed, "Fine, fine, we'll take him with us. But don't come crying to me when we wind up captured. Again." Aang's smile brightened.

"Thanks guys." With that they returned to the others.

….

Not two hours later and Team Avatar stood next to Appa, fully packed and with their newest member in tow. Chief Arnook had allowed Naruto to be released into the Avatar's custody on the condition that they leave as quickly as possible. It seemed that the Chief was not as trusting as the young monk. Now they stood uncomfortably as the strange talking toad was saying goodbye.

"I will return and find out what has happened in Konoha and hopefully find some way to get you home. In the meantime, try to get to know these young'ns and try to make yourself useful. They have done you a great service and it is the least that you can do. Summon me again in a week. Hopefully I will have good news."

Naruto grinned and gave a thumbs-up. "Sure thing, Pa!" His smile was looked forced and didn't reach his eyes. Both of them knew that he may not be able to summon the elder back once he dispelled but neither felt inclined to mention it. His smile became gentler and more genuine. "Be careful, Pa. I'll see you later." The sage gave a brief nod and a warm smile before disappearing in a poof of smoke.

The others looked on dazedly at the spot the toad had just occupied. "It d-disappeared." Sokka stuttered. Shaking his head, he moved to get on top of Appa before offering his sister a hand in assistance. "Whatever. My sister is a waterbender, my friend is the Avatar, and my girlfriend is the moon. What's one more weirdo in life?"

Aang smiled up at the older blonde and offered a hand. "Well, Naruto, welcome to the gang I guess." His smile faltered a little at the awkard sentence but brightened again when the teen took the offered hand.

"Thanks! Glad to be along!" Naruto all but shouted with his patented fox smile. As the two boys joined Sokka and Katara on Appa's saddle, Naruto Looked around at the people he would be spending his time in this world with and thought, _"They barely know me but helped me anyway. I'll find a way to get back home… but… maybe it won't be that bad to stay here for day or two."_

….

**DONE! I really didn't think that I would ever finish this chapter. I'm not really in love with this one (I just couldn't seem to get the wording right) but at least it is out of the way. Sorry to those who were hoping for more interaction between the main cast, but this really was just about getting them on the road. As of now there is no real relationship between them. Don't worry though. Now that they are on their way, the bonds can begin to build in earnest. It will not happen all at once. Their bond will develop slowly as the learn about each other and build their trust in one another.**

**Again, tell me what you think. Can't improve the story without feedback.**

**Next chapter: the group meets general phong and learn a bit about each other. **

**Look forward to it.**


	4. Chapter 4

***low whistle* Over two months since my last update… sorry about that. Did I forget to mention that I am a huge procrastinator? **

**You know, every time I check my reviews, I keep expecting a bunch of hate and various levels of trolling but you people only have the nicest things to say… WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE? The internet is not supposed to be this friendly! Still, thank you for both your kind compliments and constructive criticisms. Now let's answer mail. **

**Blinded in a Bolthole –****Thanks for the compliment. The whole summoning thing was what got me started on this story, but it took a while to think of a semi-good explanation for everything. As for the spirit idea; it honestly never occurred to me. But I think I know of a way that I can still use it –with your permission of course. It will come into play when Azula enters the story. The power of the avatar state is hard to pin down. Sometimes it's strong enough to create an island, sometimes it can't manage to blow away a young girl – its all over the place. Now, I haven't read much of the latest chapters of Naruto so I don't know much about the Juubi; but the Kyuubi, which is a fraction of the Juubi can destroy mountains with one swing of a tail and the Juubi has at least enough power to put the entire world under a genjutsu. That's a hard power to match. For the purpose of this story, I will probably put the avatar state on par with the kyuubi state.**

**Tellemicus Sundance ****– Yes, yes I have seen "the last shinobi". In fact, it was one of the very few avatarxnaruto crossovers that I really care for. I actually meant to make Sokka more paranoid, but it sort of got lost in the process. Oh well, I think Arnook was being paranoid enough for the both of them As for the Kyuubi thing, I like your idea now that I've really thought about it.**

**GenoBeast ****– Nononono. This will NOT be an angst fic. There will be emotional moments, of course, for character depth but you won't have to worry about Naruto suddenly crying about his lonely childhood (Katara might cry a little though, she seems like the type). Honesly, I wrote that line at four in the morning and was desperate to finish that chapter. That is why it seemed so forced… 'cause it was. I'm gonna avoid that in the future.**

**Headsupdisplay**** – You're right about me using the attack as being a source of bad news. It will be a major plot point in the near future. But, like I said, I have not decided on who will live and die from the attack. Fanfic privilege and all that.**

**DaDarknessWithin ****– Naruto will not be god like. Where is the fun in that?**

**Caffeineandshiny**** – Actually, I need Konoha to be attacked. It is gonna help drive the plot along. But don't worry, I won't let the story get too agnsty **

**Well, that's enough for now. Again, I want to thank everyone that reviewed. But I think it's time to get to the story.**

….

Traveling via flying bison was a new experience for one Naruto Uzumaki. Despite being a ninja who interacted with mountain sized, talking toads on a regular basis; he still found himself doubting that the large furry creature could really take to the sky. It didn't have wings or feathers or anything to indicate flight, really. But sure enough, with the simple command of "Appa, yip yip!" the beast took to the sky. The climbed higher and higher, until Naruto was seeing the world from further up than ever before – even higher than when he was on Gamabunta's head. If that wasn't exhilarating enough for the young sage, Aang was apparently in a mood for showing off and had begun to lead the bison through a series of surprisingly graceful aerobatic maneuvers. It wasn't until Aang decided to try a particularly daring loop-de-loop that Katara had finally ended the show with a stern lecture on safety and unnecessary risks. When she had started ranting about how scared their newest friend must be, Naruto had tried to spare the avatar by assuring her that he wasn't scared and had actually enjoyed the thrill. His tactic succeeded in saving Aang but had the unfortunate side effect of moving her womanly wrath onto him. It didn't take long for Naruto to lose interest but years with Sakura and Tsunade had taught him to at least try to look like he was paying attention.

"Uh-huh. Whatever you say, Katata…"Naruto said somewhat distractedly, his thoughts currently focused on figuring out his odds of survival if he decided to jump, and if the rush that he would get was worth the risk.

"Are you even listening to me, Naruto?"

"Sure thing."

_"Hmm I wonder if I could use wind chakra to break my fall…"_

"Alright, since you've been paying so much attention, what did I just say?"

"Oh! Um… it was something about leaning over the edge right?" Naruto hesitantly ventured. He figured that he must have guessed wrong when he looked up to see Katara, hands on hips, giving him the same look that Sakura had given him when he was being especially stupid. Naruto gulped. They had only been traveling together for a few hours and he could already tell that the female waterbender had plenty in common with his pink haired teammate. They were both caring, strong willed, and beautiful in their own way. He just hoped the latest female in his life didn't share the same… violent tendencies as his Sakura, or at least lacked the super strength to back it up.

"I knew it! You WERE ignoring me. You have to be careful, Naruto, or you could seriously get hurt."

Naruto looked over to Sokka, who was busying himself with what looked like maps, "Is she always like this?"

"Yah." Sokka deadpanned without looking up from the papers, "But you get used to it eventually." Katara gave her brother an indignant look and looked ready to protest before Naruto cut her off.

"Relax, Katara. You worry too much. You know that? Besides, I'm a shinobi and I'm going to be Hokage one day. I'm not going to die from something as lame as a fall. So, relax."

Katara didn't look very appeased but Sokka's question prevented any further lecturing, "There's that word again – 'shinobi'. What does that mean anyway? You keep talking about it like it's something really common, but I've never heard of it."

Naruto blinked as all eyes quickly found their way to him. Even Aang, who had previously been sitting on Appa's head to keep the bison on track, was eager to leave his perch to learn more about his new friend. His strange lemur pet… thing joined him on his shoulder. Naruto ran the question through his head again and couldn't seem to think of a good answer. The shinobi career was so widely accepted and respected that no one really ever had to explain what they were. It was simply ingrained into the culture. And, now that he stopped to think about it, the ninja system was really complicated. His face scrunched and his eyebrows knitted together as he tried to think of a good explanation.

Katara, seeing the troubled expression on the blonde's face, worried that they may have somehow upset him. "You don't have to tell is if you don't want to. We'll understand if it's too personal."

"Hmm? Oh, it's not that. I keep forgetting that this is a different world and you guys don't have anything like the shinobi system." The look that the others gave him made it clear that they still hadn't completely accepted the whole "I'm from a different world" thing. He couldn't really blame them. He, himself, still hadn't been able to completely come to grips with his situation. While he knew that he really had managed to land himself in another universe; part of him kept expecting to find out that he was just in some far off country or, better yet, wake up to learn that the whole thing was a dream. It would take time for everything to properly sink in and to get past the bizarreness of it all. "Shinobi are the military force of my world."

"So you're a soldier?" Aang asked interestedly.

Naruto wobbled his head in a cross between a shake and a nod. "Sort of… but there's more to it than that. I mean, yah we fight for our homes in times of war, but we also bring in a lot of money for our village." The others gave him a confused look that clearly meant that they didn't understand. "Ok, let me start over. All shinobi are trained in one of the great 'hidden villages'." He pointed at his forehead protector, "I'm from Konohagakure – the village hidden in the leaves. We're trained in the basics at a special ninja school until we are ready to join the shinobi corps and become official ninja. From there, we start taking on missions –"

"What kind of missions?" This time, it was Katara who posed the question.

"Anything, really." Naruto shrugged his answer, "We do anything from babysitting to guarding royalty and everything in-between. Once we complete the mission, the client pays the village and we get our cut. It's how we make our living."

Of course, the system wasn't as cut-and-dry as that, but going into the politics behind mission assignments would have been complicated and Naruto was no Iruka. Thankfully the basics seemed to satisfy their questions for the time being. The conversation quickly died out and each member of Team Avatar soon found themselves busy with their own projects. Aang assumed his position atop Appa's head; Sokka went delved back into his maps; Katara busied herself with preparing the group's dinner; and Naruto went back to daydreaming about a free-fall into the water below.

….

General Fong was not an incredibly intelligent man. Hell, you couldn't even call him a smart man. He did not make brilliant strategies or ingenious traps. Rather, he preferred to use brute force to conquer his enemies. Ever victory that he had claimed throughout his military carrier had been claimed simply because his men were stronger, more numerous, and gutsier than those that they fought. And that was precisely why HIS fortress was among the few still standing on the western shores. Dozens – if not hundreds of attacks from the Fire Nation and he and his men still remained. Things had been fairly simple in the begging. Fueled by their own arrogance and delusions of elemental superiority, they had launched a full frontal assault only for Fong's troops to once again prove their superior strength. After several failed direct assaults, the Fire Nation leaders began to turn to trickery. They tried diversions, sneak attacks, and they even tried getting in by pretending to surrender. Each and every attempt had been a miserable failure. Fong was just too straight forward, too brutal. Diversionary squads were destroyed before they could draw out their victims. Sneak attacks were too small and were quickly overwhelmed. As for the attempts using a false surrender… General Fong doesn't take prisoners. Enough said. Yes, there were those among his peers that would belittle him for his tactics, or lack thereof. They would call him things like "simpleminded" and "brute" and even the occasional "dummy" if he caught them on an off day. But none could deny that he was still here. When countless others had fallen, his fortress stood strong against the burning fire that threated his kingdom. That was why, when he heard that the Avatar was coming to his stronghold, he knew that it was a gift from the spirits themselves, a chance to end the war.

He, of course, had heard the stories that had begun to circulate after the failed invasion of the Water Tribe. The Water Tribe had begun sending messages the moment that the Fire Navy came into view. First, the messages just contained updates on the situation; then, as the situation became increasingly dire, requests for aid were dispatched. Then, before proper reinforcements could be assembled, one final message had arrived recounting the very interesting tale of what was likely the greatest Fire Nation defeat since the war began. The single largest fleet in the known history of mankind nearly topples one of the most perfectly defended nations of all time, only to be stopped by some sort of insanely powerful spirit attack. News that sensational spread like wildfire. The gossip moved quickly from ear to ear. By the end of the day, he had already heard four different versions of it, including one in which the Avatar apparently took on the form of a giant fire-breathing dragon. Fong found himself more and more thrilled with each retelling that he heard. But it was not the fantastical nature of the stories or the exaggerated nature in which they were told that had him almost giddy with excitement. No, it was the power that these stories promised. Even though most of the stories being spread were completely outrageous, they reminded him of what he had read in the original report – that a single boy had defeated an enemy that the entire combined strength of the Water Tribe military could not.  
>Just thinking about it sent shivers down his spine. He just KNEW that his plan would succeed, if only he had that power backing him up.<p>

"Sir, the Avatar has just arrived." General Fong smiled. It was time end this war.

…

The ride to the Earth Kingdom had been awkward for Team Avatar. After their initial conversation, no one seemed to want to start another one. Or rather, no one knew just HOW to start another conversation. After Naruto's mini-lecture on the workings of the world of shinobi, the group had realized that they knew nothing about each other. That alone would have been enough for a lengthy conversation but Naruto's speech had reminded them of one glaring fact. They were from different worlds. How do you even begin to bridge a gap like that? None of them seemed to have the answer, and so they sat and waited. Occasional sentences were exchanged when one of them would try to start a new conversation, but each attempt was eventually conquered by the all-consuming silence. After being subjected to several hours of such an awkward silence; was it any wonder why Aang sounded so excited when he made his announcement?

"Look! We're here!"

The gang looked in the direction that Aang was pointing. In front them, stood the largest fortress that any of them had ever seen – Naruto included. Sitting at the edge of a sheer cliff and overlooking the ocean, it looked more like a small city than a military installation. From their position in the sky, they could see dozens of buildings arranged in orderly rows around a central tower. There were only four roads leading to the outer wall and each one was narrow with a massive drop-off on either side. It was easy to see how this fortress had stood against one hundred years of war. And now they were looking to it for protection.

It had been Arnook's idea to seek refuge with the earthbenders.

…(flashback)…

Chief Arnook, Aang, Sokka, Katara, and the newly released Naruto sat around their first real meal since the invasion began. And what a meal it was!

Before them laid a spread of wines, breads, exotic fruits, and enough meat to sate even the carnivorous Sokka. Around them, a multitude of others sat in their own groups, enjoying meals of similar extravagance. It was a victory feast to celebrate the defeat of the Fire Navy and to honor those who fell to defeat it and everyone – from the lowest of peasants to the greatest of nobles; all were in attendance of this great celebration. The great dining hall that housed the momentous occasion was filled with the sounds of laughter, conversation, and toasts to comrades. Only one table was silent – unable to enjoy the festivities for the tense atmosphere that had settled upon them.

Arnook broke from the glare that he was sending Naruto to face the avatar. "So, where will you go now?"

"Well… I still need to master the elements. We'll probably head to Omashu. I can learn earthbending from Bumi."

Arnook nodded his approval. "King Bumi is a powerful earthbender. I am sure there is much that he can teach you. If you are going to the Earth Kingdom, there is a stronghold on the western coast that I believe you should visit. It is led by General Fong. He is a great warrior and an even greater soldier. He should be able to give an escort to Omashu."

The others looked confused but it was Sokka that voiced the question. "An escort? We just survived one of the greatest Fire Nation attacks in history; not to mention Aang is the avatar. No offense, but I think we can take care of ourselves."

"You have each proven to be very strong and I have no doubt that you are able to look after yourselves. But these are dangerous times and you can never be too careful. "

No one missed the suspicious glance that the chief threw in Naruto's direction and the young shinobi had to bite back on the frustrated sigh that threated to escape. The real reason Arnook wanted Aang to use an escort was obvious. Honestly, there was a limit to how paranoid you could be. After everything that had happened, the man still thought that Naruto was just waiting to stab them all in the back and it was starting to piss him off.

Worse still, his paranoia was causing him to make mistakes. Naruto had been on his fair share of escort mission and one rule defined all of them: smaller is better. It only takes two or three people to really protect someone and a large escort only serves to draw attention to the client. It was a basic strategy that someone like Arnook was sure to know. Yet here he was, throwing all of that out on the chance that Naruto still meant them harm. If he wasn't so determined to never EVER be locked up again, he might have given the bastard a piece of his mind. This time he failed to catch his sigh and he suddenly felt all eyes at the table focused on him.

Scratching the back of his head, Naruto could only laugh embarrassedly, "Hehe, sorry. What were you saying again?"

The others just shook their heads as the chief began speaking again. "As. I. Was. Saying. These are dangerous times. The Earth Kingdom has been under constant attack and several areas are already under Fire Nation control. You carry the fate of the world on your shoulders, Avatar. I would hate to think that the world was destroyed simply because we were careless."

Naruto raised his hand. "Uhh…" he began once he saw that he had everyone's attention, "would someone mind telling me why the fate of the world depends on a twelve year old kid? No offense Aang."

"None taken."

…(flashback)…

A couple of hours, one long explanation, and several questions later and Naruto was left with a basic understanding of the world around him as well as the situation his new friends were in. He couldn't help but to frown whenever he thought about what he had heard about being the Avatar. The idea that a kid would have to fight to save the world just because "fate" said he would, rubbed Naruto in the wrong way. He had spent his entire life defying fate – he practically had it down to a science. If he had listened to fate then he would still be a dead last; would have lost to Neji in the chuunin exams; and definitely wouldn't have mastered sage mode – surpassing his own teacher. Hell, as a jinchuuriki, he defied fate with every day that he lived! Forget defying fate. Fate was his bitch! But here… here they practically worshiped the damn thing. They believed so strongly in fate – destiny, or whatever the hell you wanted to call it – that they were willing to throw a twelve year old at their greatest enemy and just hope for the best. And it just seemed so… WRONG, and so… STUPID.

_"Well I'm not gonna just stand around and do nothing." _He thought as he watched the arrow headed boy who didn't even wait to land before jumping from his seat, _"Pa's right. They got the chains off of me. The least that I can do is help them while I'm here. I owe them that much."_ And with that, he joined the others on the ground.

Later, the members of Team Avatar would - while enjoying another meal around their campfire – debate whether or not the Earth Kingdom general had been watching from some obscure shadow; as the moment Naruto's feet touched the ground, the sky was set on fire by the firework display to end all firework displays.A myriad of colors, shapes, and patterns filled their vision and the group could only share one collective thought: _"Glad they let us land first…" _The show continued for several minutes before it died down and the group was finally greeted by their host.

"Welcome!" The voice that brought them back to reality was rough and gravelly as if to match the element of its owner. As the group's eyes turned earthward, they were greeted by the sight of the small platoon that had come to greet them. At the head of the platoon was the man who had spoken. He was a fairly large man with broad shoulders and muscles that (despite the heavy uniform that marked him as an Earth Kingdom officer) clearly showed the results of long hours of training. In a show of national pride, the man was covered head-to-toe in earth tones. From his long brown beard and tanned, brown skin to his earthy green clothes; the man screamed "earthbender". All of this came together in only one name –

"General Fong, thank you for having us." Aang spoke with a respectful bow.

"Nonsense! It is our honor to host heroes of your caliber. The great and powerful Avatar, brave Sokka, the mighty Katara, and uh…" the general trailed off awkwardly as he reached the blonde in the group.

Eye twitch visible, the sage filled in the blank through gritted teeth, "Naruto – Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ah yes! You must be that 'wierdo with the giant frogs'. You are very powerful in your own right, if the reports are to be believed." Fong spoke casually; either not noticing or completely ignoring the angry twitch in the teen's eye that now seemed to be steadily growing worse as well as someone muttering something that sounded suspiciously like "Might Katara? I like the sound of that."

"Believe it!"

"Anyway, you are all welcome to stay here while you rest. And, when you are ready to head to Omashu, we would be more than happy to escort you. Now if you would please follow my men, they will show you to your rooms. Once you have settled in, there is something that I would like to talk to you about." After receiving nod of confirmation, General Fong felt free to take his leave and let the others handle the living arrangements.

….

"Thank you for joining me, Avatar. We have a lot to talk about."

Team Avatar now stood in what could only be described as a throne room. The room was massive considering that its only furnishings consisted of a large table and the seat which General Fong currently occupied. The Earth Kingdom symbol was proudly displayed on several banners around the room as well as on the floor. The group had been called in shortly after taking their things to their rooms. And now, they waited somewhat anxiously to learn what the general wanted.

"I'll cut right to the chase… you're ready to fight the Fire Lord now."

"What!" Aang's shocked voice matched the expressions on his friends' faces perfectly. "I'm not ready yet! I still haven't mastered waterbending – not to mention earth and fire!" The others nodded in agreement.

"Maybe not… but we have something more powerful," here the general paused for dramatic effect, "we have the avatar state."

"What?" This time it was Katara's disbelieving voice that rang out, "General Fong, you can't be serious!" Perhaps her reaction was a bit stronger than what the situation warranted, but she didn't like the idea of using the avatar state. When Aang entered that state, it was like he became a different person. Sure, he gained a lot of power, but that kind, lovable, and often goofy friend that she knew to be Aang would vanish and be replaced by cold, calculating and endlessly destructive. It was like he was being controlled by someone – or something – else… and that SCARED her. It scared her that one day her best friend could disappear and never come back. But that was just a fear… a worst case scenario. What WAS certain – what made her react so strongly to the idea that General Fong had just proposed was what triggered the avatar state. In the time that she had known Aang, he had only entered the avatar state in times of great emotional stress, like when he discovered that the airbenders were extinct; or a near death experience, like when Zuko had thrown him overboard at the beginning of their journey. Using the avatar state to fight the Fire Lord would mean forcing him to go through something similar. Even if it was simulated, she couldn't imagine doing that to him.

"Oh, but I am serious. The avatar state is a power unlike any other in the world. That Fire Nation fleet was overpowering the Water Tribe, a people known battle prowess on the water; but you just swatted them away like a bunch of flies."

"I helped to, damn it." Naruto muttered under his breath.

Ignoring him, Fong continued, "Our fleet has never been able to break through the Fire Nation defenses; but with that kind of power, you could blow right through them – march my men straight up to the capital. Even the Fire Lord would not be able to stop you!"

"Look, I get what you are saying. But the truth is I can't control the avatar state, it just sort of happens. I think it would be safer to just go with the original plan of mastering all of the elements."

Fong sighed and rose to his feet. "Aang," he used the airbender's name for the first time since their arrival, "let me show you something." He led Aang to a ledge overlooking the main courtyard. Looking down into the courtyard, Aang was just in time to see a group of earthbenders apparently returning from battle. More than half of the soldiers were covered in bandages, and the other half was seemed ready to collapse from exhaustion as they helped their comrades cross the few feet that were between them and the rest that they so sorely needed. Fong waited a few seconds for the image to sink in. "War is a terrible thing. Those people down there are mothers, fathers, daughters, and sons; and for every one that you see walk through that gate, there's at least three that won't. People are dying, Aang; more and more every day – and it shows no sign of stopping. But YOU have the power to stop it. With your help, this war could end in days instead of months or years, and so many lives could be spared."

His speech seemed to have the desired effect. Instead of just shocked or confused, Aang now looked… torn… like he couldn't decide what to do. "You don't have to make your decision now. Take some time to think about it. But like I said, more people die every day. I will need an answer by tomorrow." With that, Team Avatar was dismissed.

….

It was clear that the Earth Kingdom general was trying to earn the Avatar's favor. That was why he and his friends had been given the nicest room in the fortress all to themselves, instead of having to bunk with other soldiers. Of course, this was still a military instillation and was therefore made to be functional, not comfortable. Aside from a couple of posters on the wall, the room's only furnishings were four beds that were attached firmly to the wall. You wouldn't hear any of them complaining though. They were all used to much worse. Traveling with the Avatar tended to mean spending a lot of nights outside. It was a rare and happy occasion when Aang, Katara, and Sokka had the opportunity to enjoy the finer things in life like a soft bed and warm shower. And Naruto… Naruto was a shinobi. If the worst part of a mission was camping out, he considered himself to be lucky. Now they were all working in a stilted silence as they unpacked things for the night and thought over the day's events. Well… Sokka, Aang, and Katara were unpacking. Naruto, having not exactly planned for this little inter-dimensional trip, had very little to take care of, and so contented himself with sitting on his bed while he thought.

They continued like this until Aang finally took it upon himself to break the silence. "So what do you guys think?"

"Hm? About what?" Sokka asked lazily as he got into bed, ready to catch up on some much needed sleep.

"You know, about this whole avatar state thing. Should I take his offer?"

Sokka just gave a half-hearted shrug, but his sister was far more opinionated. "I don't like it. The avatar is supposed to master all four elements and I think you should stick to that."

"B-but what about what General Fong said? People are dying! If I can stop that, why wouldn't I?" There was an almost pleading quality to his voice. Some part of himself was already convinced that Fong's plan was the best option and now he was looking for someone to tell him the same thing – to assure him of his decision. He was not disappointed.

"He has a point, Katara." Sokka spoke from under his blankets, "As long as he defeats the Fire Lord, I don't think it matters how he does it. If we can end the war tomorrow then I'm all for it."

"What about Avatar Roku? He said that you needed to master the elements didn't he? I just don't think we should be taking short cuts like this."

"Yah but-" Aang was cut off by Naruto.

"I'm with Katara on this one." The others stared at him – somewhat startled. The three friends had been traveling together for so long, and Naruto had been thrown into their lives so suddenly; it was easy to forget him in their conversations. Collecting themselves, Katara gave him a grateful smile, obviously happy to have another voice of reason in the group.

"What? Why?" Sokka struggled to understand the blonde. Just that morning, he had been shouting in joy as he took part in aerial acrobatics that would terrify most men. Now he was telling them to be careful and to take things slowly? Hypocrite much?

"Look," Naruto continued, "just from what I've seen, I can tell that the avatar state is really, REALLY powerful. But that kind of power always comes at a price, and it's usually more than you want to pay."

Katara gave the blonde a long look. There was something about his tone… "You're speaking from experience aren't you?"

Naruto blinked. Experience? That was one way to put it. He thought about Tsunade's mitotic regeneration and how it shaved years off of her life every time she used it. He thought about Orichimaru's curse seal and the way It nearly drove its victims to insanity, bending their minds to the snake user's will… He thought about his own abilities as a jinchuuriki. Hid friends didn't know it, but he was well aware of the damage that was inflicted on his body every time he abused the Kyuubi's power. How could he not – it was his body after all? Although, compared to the possibility of killing everyone around him, a slightly losing a few years off of the end of his life didn't seem so bad – especially considering the average lifespan of those in his profession.

Experience? Yah, he had some.

But those things were all rather personal; a little too personal to share with such new friends. Maybe something a little less extreme…

"I have this one really awesome attack. It's the strongest attack that I have but I can't use it very often; it requires too much power and has too much kick-back. If I'm not careful, I could wind up in a hospital every time I try to use it… I could give a few other examples; but they all have the same message: 'power comes at a price.'" Naruto stopped in his triad as he noticed the tense and slightly depressed atmosphere that had settled on the room. Damn it, it wasn't like he was TRYING to sound so depressing. "I'm not telling you not to do it – that's your choice – I'm just saying to be careful."

"He's right about one thing, Aang." Sokka spoke up, "YOU'RE the avatar here and it's YOUR choice. But, whatever you choose, me and Katara have your back. I can't speak for blonde over there, but you can count on us."

Aang looked around at his friends - from Sokka, who was giving him a big thumbs-up; to Katara, who had on her best reassuring smile. Then he came to Naruto. Naruto gave his best fox smile. "Heh, it's not like I know anyone else around here. I'm with you all the way." Aang let out the breath he didn't know that he had been holding. He had secretly been hoping that the blonde sage would join their group more permanently and had actually been planning on suggesting that he join them anyway. Aang had really started to like the blonde; if for no other reason than that he was fun to be around. But it was more than that. Aang preferred to think that he was a decent judge of character, and he could tell that Naruto would be a strong and loyal friend and a great addition to their group. Aange felt a warm smile spread across his face.

"Thanks guys."

"Yah, yah…" Sokka spoke with a yawn," Warm fuzzy feelings all around. Can we get some sleep now?"

….

"So, have you made your decision?" General Fong questioned the young man that stood before him in the morning sun. Aang just gave him a level stare. There was no smile; no goofy grin; no lighthearted joke. The boy knew that what he was about to say would have an impact all over the world.

"I'll do it. I'll master the avatar state."

The general smiled approvingly and started to stand. "Good! Very good! We'll begin right away." He moved to stand next to Aang, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. "You've made the right choice. You'll learn to master the avatar state, lead my army through the Fire Nation's defenses, and together we will finally put an end to this war." Aang tried to believe that, he really did.

….

Thus began one of the most bizarre – if not somewhat entertaining – day that any of Team Avatar had experienced in a long time. The attempts to trigger the avatar state had started off fairly simply. The first attempt was little more than having the young avatar concentrate… really hard. When that failed, they moved to energy drinks and it only got worse from there. As the day went on, the attempts became increasingly strange as the group became progressively desperate. By the end of the day, poor Aang found himself the subject of rather bizarre ritual.

He stood before an old, gangly looking… priest?... maybe? He himself was covered in extravagant garbs from each of the four nations – none of which fit.

"We now combine the elements." The priest spoke in a flashy overly extravagant fashion, "Fire, earth, water, and wind." With each element named, the priest threw in a torch, a clump of dirt, a pitcher of water, and a gust of wind into a large metal bowl. That done, he grabbed the bowl and raised it above his head. "Just as the avatar embodies all four elements, we now combine the elements into one. Now, awaken!" His speech finished, the priest emptied the bowls contents on the unsuspecting airbender.

"Mud. He made mud." Sokka spoke slowly from where he and the others had watched as their friend was completely covered in mud.

"Well? Anything?" The priest asked in a hopeful tone. Everyone present tensed as Aang seemed to have some sort of reaction… and quickly duck as the he gave an airbending powered sneeze. The members of Team Avatar were able to avoid the violent spray of filth that exploded from their friend. The priest was hardly so lucky.

"Well, that was a bust." Naruto stated flatly.

As the now dirt encrusted priest took his leave, General Fong made his way forward. "It's getting late. Go to bed, and we can try again tomorrow."

….

It was dark… very dark… unnaturally dark. Aang looked around as he tried to gain a sense of where he was. Looking down to the ground, he found that whatever he was standing on was made of metal. From there the darkness started to recede and his surroundings slowly came into view. He was standing on the deck of a Fire Nation ship. But wait. Hadn't he been in an Earth Kingdom fortress when he went to sleep? How did he wind up in the middle of the ocean –on an enemy ship at that. Had he been captured? If so, what had happened to his friends? Were they being held below deck, or had they somehow escaped?

Before he could properly investigate the situation, a bright light demanded his attention. The avatar turned his gaze skyward to see the very last thing that he would ever expect. Suspended high above him was… himself. Only, it the face that peered down at him was not like the one that he was used to seeing in his reflection. His duplicate (for he couldn't think of what else to call it) had eyes and tattoos that glowed with an otherworldly light. Realization dawned on the boy.

_"Is… is this what I look like in the avatar state?" _No wonder Naruto and Katara were so hesitant to tap into its power.

The darkness receded further to reveal that the duplicate was being suspended by a giant mass of water and ice… water and ice that took the form of giant fish. Aang vaguely recognized it as the form that he had used at the North Pole. But what was he/it doing up there? What was going on? Without warning the duplicate began to move. Fear gripped Aang and he could only watch as the duplicate slowly raised its arm, before bringing down in a powerful swing.

….

Aang's own terrified scream jolted him from his sleep. Aang's breathing was quick and erratic as he frantically scanned the area around him. It was dark; and, for a moment, he feared that he was still on that ship. But as his breathing calmed, and his eyes adjusted to the lack of light, he relieved to find himself safely in the bed. It had all been a terrible nightmare and the sound of deep breathing around the room was enough to confirm that his friends were safe and sound asleep. All but one.

"Aang, you ok?" It was Sokka's voice that broke through the night.

"Yah, it was just a bad dream." There was a moment of silence. "Sokka?"

"Hmm?" The groggy response told Aang that his friend was barely holding onto consciousness.

"I don't think we should be doing this – trying to trigger avatar state, I mean."

"Ok." Aang just had to smile at that response. He wasn't sure what he expected. Maybe for Sokka to argue – to try to convince him to stay the course? But his response was just so much more like Sokka.

Another thought occurred to Aang. "Do you think General Fong will be mad?"

He could practically feel Sokka shrug his shoulders. "You're the avatar. What's he gonna do? Besides, he seems like a perfectly reasonable man. I'm sure he'll understand. Now get some sleep would ya?"

Again Aang smile at the typical answer. "Goodnight, Sokka."

….

The next morning had Aang standing in front of Fong's "throne" for the third – and hopefully last – time. If they were abandoning the avatar state plan; then he still had to master all of the elements before the solstice. That meant he had very little time to spare and it was about time for them to be on their way.

"So you see, I really don't think we should be pushing the avatar state like this. I just don't think it will work the way that you want it too." Aang finished and nervously awaited the general's response. Despite his best friend's reassurance, he was still worried over how Fong might react. The glare that was being sent his way was not helping. He really wished that his friends were there with him, for moral support if nothing else. But they were still in their room, packing so that they would be able to leave as quickly as possible. Now that he thought about it… did it really take three people to pack their bags? He was brought back to reality when General Fong began to stand.

"I see. I can't say that I'm not disappointed. I think that this plan has a real chance at succeeding. Are you sure there is nothing that I can do to change your mind?"

Aang nodded. "I'm sure. The avatar state is just too dangerous to be toying around with."

The two stared at each other for another minute before the general let out a resigned sigh. "Very well. I'm sorry Avatar, but you leave me no choice." The next moment, Aang was thrown from the room and into the courtyard by a boulder more than twice his size. It was only thanks to his mastery of airbending that he was able to right himself in mid-air and avoid serious injury from the several story drop. He quickly regained his bearings and turned to the room he had just been ejected from in time to see General Fong step into the hole in the wall that he had created.

"What are you doing?" Aang asked in a mix of confusion and anger.

The general just looked down on Aang with an expression that was as cold and hard as the stone around him. "I'm sorry, Avatar. But this plan WILL continue, and you WILL enter the avatar state; even if I must harm you to do so." As he spoke, dozens of Earth Kingdom soldiers ran out of the tower and surrounded the avatar. When the last man was in place, their leader gave a single, calm command. "Attack." Instantly, Aang was assaulted by all manner of things stone. Boulders, rockslides, and even statues were hurled at the young airbender and were only avoided thanks to a well-timed, airbending-powered jump.

Aang landed just outside of the ring that had encircle him and moved to escape, but was stopped when the Earth Kingdom symbol that he had been standing on erupted from the ground and pulled him back to the group of assailants. Instead of struggling against the stone that now entrapped him, he ran with it, allowing enough space between him and the symbol to slip out and away. A brief roll later and he was on his feet again. He turned to face his attackers in hopes of reasoning with them, but had to quickly shelf that plan when he noticed that each of the earthbenders in the courtyard had prepared a weapon in the same form as the trap he had just escaped. No one moved as Fong jumped from his perch on the tower to join his men on the ground.

"Please,"Aang tried again, "I don't want to fight you!"

"You don't have a choice. You will fight. And either you will activate the avatar state, or you will die. It's your choice." And with a single signal, the battle began again and Aang soon found himself, ducking, rolling, and twisting his body in unimaginable ways to avoid the onslaught of attacks that were thrown his way.

That was how Sokka, Naruto, and Katara found him upon their arrival. They had just finished packing the last of their supplies, when the sound of fighting had drawn them outside. Once they arrived at the main courtyard, they were shocked to find their arrow-headed friend doing a rather impressive imitation of a contortionist as he slid between a pair of stone slabs that seemed hell bent on crushing him. It took a moment for them to realize that this was not mere training and that the people who they had looked to for protection were now, indeed trying to crush and/or kill their best friend. The moment after that, they were running at full speed to get Aang out of there.

Pumping some chakra into his legs, Naruto easily pulled out in front of the other two as he rushed head first into battle. For any other person, charging in like that, especially against superior numbers, would have been near suicidal; but this was Naruto, and not once in his shinobi career had he needed to worry about being outnumbered.

**"Kage Bunshin No Jutsu!" **

All combat stopped as every non-ninja on the battlefield nineteen copies of the blonde join the charge in a puff of smoke. Many soldiers – unable to comprehend the strange sight - could only watch as one of the many copies descended upon them, and paid for their hesitation with broken bones and bruised organs. Others, the more experienced warriors, had been desensitized enough by the Fire Nation's attempts to take their fortress that they were able to pull themselves together in time to avoid the initial attack. But even they found to respite as the clones relentlessly pressed their attack, determined to do as much damage as possible while the advantage was still theirs.

Further back, the Watertribe siblings had stopped running in favor of staring with wide eyes and open mouths as not one, but twenty blondes decimating the enemy ranks.

"Katara…" Sokka spoke slowly, as if he was terribly unsure about what he was about to say.

"Yah, Sokka?" Katara sounded much like her brother, dazed and unsure of reality.

"You see this too… right? I'm not going insane, right?"

"I… don't think so. Not unless I'm going crazy too."

They stared for another second before Sokka groaned. "Aw man! The talking frog was bad enough! Now this? Why can't we ever meet anyone normal? Am I doomed to a life of weirdoes and freaks?"

The duo watched as two of the Narutos created some kind of glowing ball in their hands before smashing it THROUGH the stone barrier that one earthbender had erected for protection. Sokka groaned again, and Katara found that she could sympathize with her brother… she really could. But she still couldn't hold back the smirk when she replied. "It sure seems that way, doesn't it?"

Sokka turned to yell at his sister for being un-sympathetic but was pre-empted by another voice. "Would you guys mind helping me out? I can't beat all of these guys by myself!" Remebering where they were and what they were doing, the siblings put aside their thoughts long enough to join the fray.

….

While all of these things were going on, Aang and General Fong had managed to find each other on the battlefield and, after getting over the shock of seeing multiple Narutos, began fighting. Or rather, Fong resumed attacking and Aang resumed his efforts to avoid being hit while simultaneously trying to talk some sense into the crazed general. "Please stop this, General Fong. I don't want to fight you!" But the man would hear none of it. He just kept attacking again and again, throwing every move in his fast collection of earthbending techniques; all of which were missing. Try as he might, the avatar would just dance around his attacks while spouting some nonsense about needless violence, and it was starting to get frustrated. His plan seemed so simple at the beginning, put the avatar in enough danger that he would have no choice to enter the avatar state. But he had not considered that the boy's friends would come to assist him, or that they would be so effective at it.

Sokka wasn't much trouble. He could swing a sword and throw a boomerang, but his men were far better fighters than that kid. In the end, he was just a nuisance. The other two however…

The girl was an exceptional fighter – quick, precise, and damn near elegant. She danced around his soldiers, only pausing to lash out with that infamous water whip of hers. It was unbelievable the amount of damage that she could do with just a little bit of water. He didn't even want to think about the chaos that she would have been able to create with a decent supply. Still, had she been alone, he was confident that she would have been defeated. Water was weak against earth and his men were no pushovers. If she was by herself, she would have been relatively easy to capture or at least hold back… if she was alone. But she wasn't alone.

There was that… that FREAK – that orange wearing, yellow haired, clone making FREAK! There was no other word that could describe him. No NORMAL person would be able to casually summon a small army of clones to help him fight. Where the hell does someone even pick up abilities like that? As a general, Fong had been all over the world and had seen more than his fair share of strange things; but not once had he seen anything that even came close to this. To be able to summon reinforcements on a whim like that, it was a dangerous ability. His only saving grace seemed to be that the clones were easy to destroy. It didn't take much more than a glancing blow and the clone would simply disappear in a puff of smoke. Add to that earthbending's natural affinity for mass destruction and most of the force that the boy created was dealt with quickly. But it still did quite a lot of damage and it evened out the numbers enough to keep them from being overwhelmed. It was a dangerous trick alright, and General Fong knew that he needed to finish things quickly before he truly lost control of the situation. But the avatar was just too good. Even if the kid never tried to hit back, he was still too agile to hit.

Out of the corner of his eye, Fong watched as Katara used her water to pull the feet out from under another soldier; and he paused momentarily in his attacks as an idea struck him. If he couldn't get Aang to respond by threatening HIS safety, maybe he would for the safety of his friends.

Aang blinked in surprise when General Fong suddenly stopped his relentless assault and simply lowered his hands back to his sides. Aang copied the gesture in hopes that the fighting was finally over. His hope was short lived.

"Alright, Avatar. It's obvious that I can't beat you. Your friends on the other hand…" Aang noticed the glance he threw at Katara too late as her legs were suddenly pulled underground by some invisible force, halting her in mid-strike. It also had the side benefit of distracting Naruto and Sokka long enough to finally be pinned down. And just like that, the battle was over.

Aang immediately rounded on the general. "What are you doing? Leave them out of this!"

"You brought this on yourself, Avatar. All you had to do was enter the avatar state but you won't," He gave a sharp twist of his hand and Katara was suddenly up to her waist in the earth.

"Aang, help!" Katara screamed as she tried to free herself.

"Please stop this!"

"You have the power to stop this, Avatar. Just use the avatar state," another twist and only Katara's head remained above ground, "Come on! Do you want her to DIE?"

Aang collapsed onto his knees. "Please, I'm trying!" He was begging now as he tears fell from his eyes and he clung desperately to the earthbender's robe.

General Fong just stared at him with a cold gaze – the same gaze that he had used on so many enemies before. "That's not good enough. I'm sorry that it had to come to this." And Katara's head, at last, disappeared beneath the earth.

The field was silent.

There were no cries of terror or pain. All stood still as their minds tried to grasp the horrible thing that they had just witnessed. It slowly dawned on everyone present that they had just watched the execution of an innocent young girl, a friend… a sister. Each one – even the soldiers – couldn't help but to wonder where everything went so wrong and think of all of the things that they could have done to stop it. But none of their thoughts were as self-recriminating as the ones that were currently running through Aang's head.

"_No! Why is this happening? I just wanted to be able to end the war more quickly. I just needed some more power-" _ As if summoned by magic, Naruto's words from the night before flashed through his mind.

…(flashback)…

"Look, just from what I've seen, I can tell that the avatar state is really, REALLY powerful. But that kind of power always comes at a price, and it's usually more than you want to pay."

…(flashback)…

Was this the price of his power? Was a friend going to have to die anytime he wanted to use the avatar state? Was he really willing to sacrifice them so that he wouldn't need to master the elements? No.

_"NO!"_

Everyone within ten feet of Aang was instantly knocked back by the hurricane force winds that suddenly erupted from the airbender. Only Fong was able to hold his ground by anchoring his feet with some last second earthbending. Using his robes to shield his eyes, he watched as the storm condensed into a towering cyclone, out of the top of which appeared the avatar – eyes glowing with the power of the avatar state.

"Avatar Aang," General Fong called. When he saw Aang turn his gaze down to him, he assumed it was safe to continue, "Your friend is safe! Look!" He stomped and Katara was quickly deposited back to the surface, gulping for air but otherwise unharmed. "See? It was all a trick to get you to use the avatar state! AND IT WORKED!"

Aang showed no sign of understanding. He just continued to stare at the Earth Kingdom general, never blinking. Then, in an action that was as sudden as it was violent, came crashing back to the earth. As he descended, the column of wind that had been supporting him spread outward, destroying everything within its reach then collapsed back in on itself to form a protective dome around the avatar. Time seemed to slow down to a crawl as the crowd awaited the next attack. But it never came. The avatar just continued to stand there, completely surrounded by gale force winds, but otherwise motionless. Finally, after what felt like an eternity, the glowing faded from Aang's body and the winds died down.

Katara was upon him the moment that it was safe, with Sokka and Naruto only a few steps behind. Forgetting all about the dozens of dangerous warriors that still surrounded them, Katara sat down and gently pulled Aang's head onto her lap. Aang slowly opened his eyes as he came back into the waking world. He looked at Katara with eyes that shined of both relief and regret.

"Thank goodness." He whispered, physically and mentally exhausted, "I thought that he had killed you. I'm sorry. You were right about the avatar state."

Katara had just opened her mouth to comfort her friend – to tell him that it wasn't all his fault, but was stopped by the loud, nearly insane laugh erupted from behind her.

"Ha! Are you joking? That was perfect!" the power mad general exclaimed before rubbing his beard thoughtfully, "Now, if we could just find a way to control it…."

Everyone, even his own men, sent him a flat look. But it was Aang who put their thoughts into words. "You're crazy."

"We're so close now." The general continued his rant. "That demonstration settled it. With the power of the avatar no one will-"and was finally silenced by the dull end of a kunai, the owner of which stared at the now unconscious man with a heavy twitch in his eyebrow.

"I'm sorry," Naruto began with surprising calm despite his irritated expression. "I just couldn't listen to that anymore." He only received nods of understanding in response.

"Right," Sokka spoke as he and his sister helped Aang to his feet and began moving towards Appa, "I think we've overstayed our welcome. It's time for us to go."

As the group mounted Appa and made their final preparations to depart, they were approached by a very hesitant soldier – a lowly private, but currently the highest ranking man still conscious and therefore the man in charge. "If you would like, we could still give you that escort to Omashu."

Sokka looked from the soldier, to his battered and beaten comrades, to the heavily damaged fortress, and finally to the deranged general who was now tied up and being carted off of the field (hopefully for a full psych evaluation). "No, I think we're good."

….

…**9,000 words… NEW PERSONAL BEST! Did not think I would ever finish this chapter, but I am glad that I did. I got to say, I like this one a lot more than the last one. It is still kind of rough in spots, but I there are some parts that I really do like. **

**As usual, reviews are appreciated. I am always looking to improve. **

**Now to address a couple of issues that you have brought forward. **

**1)I have decided that this will be a Katara/Naruto pairing. Really, I think that this is what it was always going to be. I just needed to settle on it. BUT, because I am not above compromise, there will be a short fling between Naruto and Ty Lee, who was been the most popular in reviews. It will not amount to more than a summer fling but it will be there. After all, who doesn't love a good love triangle?**

**2) Naruto will not be getting the bijuu state in this fic, or if he does, it will be at the very very end. I think it would just leave him too overpowered. But, under the advice of Sundance, Kyuubi will play a role in the story and he and Naruto will develop some sort of friendship.** portable.

**Sadly, I must now ask for your help. There are two questions that I cannot seem to answer on my own, so I will now leave them to you.**

**First: following the tv series, the next episode would be "the cave of two lovers". The problem is that nothing really significant happens in that episode and I am really tempted to skip it to get to "the swamp" sooner, because I have some serious stuff planned for that. But at the same time, I feel like skipping it would leave an awkward time gap. So here are the options: skip it, write a chapter for it, or make my own original filler chapter. You should note that making an original chapter will take a while.**

**WARNING – this is not a pole! I just want to get a feel for what the readers want.**

**Second: I need another way to refer to the part of Team Avatar that is actually from the Avatarverse (Sokka, Aang, ect…). Any ideas for that would be appreciated. **

**Anyway, I'll wait for at least a week for everyone to give their opinion before I start the next chapter, but you should still look forward to it (yah, it's a sign-off).**


	5. Chapter 5

**EXCLAMATION POINTS!**

**Aaaannnddd I'm back everybody. I know, I know, it's been way too long since my last update. This chapter was like one long case of writers block. But I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.**

**You know something crazy happened the other day. I realized that I actually care about this story. When I first started, I figured I would kill some boredom and maybe get a couple of pity reviews. The response that you have been giving has surpassed my every expectation. And I'm only four chapters in! (not counting the prologue) In fact, the last chapter got so many reviews that I cannot answer them all. So, instead I am going to respond only to the ones that hit on the key issues. But know that even if I don't respond, I read every single review that comes in.**

**Lonely Holiday – You're absolutely right. This is my first story ever and I'm still trying to find the balance. I think I did a little better on this chapter though. Let me know what you think. Also, I know someone else mentioned the same thing, but I can't find the review to get the name. So if you're reading this, whoever you are, ditto the above statement.**

**Yaoilover – I'm gonna have a bit of a nerd moment and point out that Naruto can't use every element. When you think about it, he only knows a couple jutsu. As far as sealing is concerned, you'll see.**

**Chm01 – Naruto will be getting new abilities, but nothing chi related. I want to keep out the power crossovers as much as possible.**

**There are a couple other things I want to say, but I'll save them until the end of the chapter.**

**For those of you who are still wondering, I decided to skip the cave. It was the most popular response, and I just think it's a bit early to start any romance. They've only known each other for a couple of days after all. But I reserve the right to use it later on.**

**Now read on!**

**Oh! And I don't own Naruto or Avatar.**

….

The last few days had been some of the most relaxing days that Naruto had enjoyed in a long time. Despite the time limit, Aang was fairly confident that he could master earthbending quickly, especially under the tutelage of his long-time friend Bumi. This confidence was reflected in the leisurely pace at which they traveled. Each day, the group would walk in the general direction of Omashu while making frequent stops to eat, train, and generally relax. At night, they would enjoy a warm meal around a campfire and spend time getting to know each other. They would spend hours just trading stories, reliving past adventures, and – for a time – forgetting the war that raged around them. It was paradise… or it would have been if not for a couple… irritations.

The first and most glaring issue was the distance Aang suddenly seemed intent on creating between them. It was nothing obvious. In fact, Naruto doubted that anyone else in the group realized what was happening. On the surface Aang was being just as polite and friendly as always. But it was the little things – things that only someone who knew what to look for would notice. Naruto had that knowledge. Between his ostracized childhood, his regular life as a ninja, and the years that he had spent with Konoha's greatest spy master; Naruto was more than capable of spotting someone that was trying to distance themselves from another person.

The biggest signal was Aang's tone. One of the things that Jiraiya had taught him on their three year trip was how to read those slight inflections of the voice that gave away the speaker's emotions. He never really got very good at it and could still be fooled by another ninja, but someone like Aang – who lacked both the training and the will to properly hide his emotions – might as well have been an open book. When he spoke to Sokka or Katara, his voice was light and unguarded. It spoke of the almost familial bond that could only be forged by the greatest of tribulations. But when he spoke to Naruto; suddenly his voice was filled with – not hate or malice – but a definite wariness. Normally, this wouldn't be so strange. They hadn't known each other for very long, after all. But wariness had not been there before. When they had first met Aang had been so open and friendly… most of the people in the Elemental Nations would call him a fool but Naruto found it refreshing. But after they had made their escape from General Fong and his men, the young airbender had a sudden change of heart. Naruto had tried to remember anything that he could have done to warrant such a change, but gave up after the first day and decided to just give Aang some space. He could always confront the kid if it became a problem later.

The second issue was less worrying but infinitely more annoying than the first. Apparently the recent battle with the Earth Kingdom army had driven Sokka to a sort of personal epiphany – he was drastically under-armed for the enemies that they were fighting. Normally, Naruto was all for training and self-improvement; but the battle had also revealed another startling truth to the pony-tailed teen. Naruto – who was most definitely not a bender – had single-handedly beaten well over a dozen well trained, earthbending soldiers. In short, he was strong. So when Sokka had decided to get stronger, well…

"For the last time, Sokka, I'm not going to teach you any jutsu!" Naruto not-quite screamed.

_"Honestly, if I have to explain this one more time, I'm going to scream."_

"Awww… but why not? You said that everyone has chakra, right? So, then anyone should be able to use those jutsu things!"

_"That's it, I'm gonna scream." _Naruto mentally groaned. Outwardly he settled for a frustrated sigh. "For the millionth time, yes everyone has chakra but most people don't have a lot of it. We train for years to make our chakra networks strong enough to handle the jutsu that we perform. If you tried one now, you'd… I don't know, explode or something! Ugh, why didn't I pay more attention in the academy?"

Naruto almost smiled when his rant seemed to put a stop to Sokka's latest attempt to learn jutsu, but flinched when he saw the crestfallen look his friend had adopted. It reminded of his early days as a genin. He was so eager to learn and grow stronger. He remembered the stinging disappointment every time Kakashi would refuse to teach Team 7 anything, forcing them to spar and run drills instead.  
>Later he had realized that his teacher was just waiting for the team to mature enough to handle the power that they were asking for. He was renowned for his mastery of one thousand techniques and any one of those could have killed them if used carelessly. Sasuke had made that abundantly clear. But Kakashi had never bothered to explain his reasons and so the team had begun to believe that he was simply lazy and had come close to resenting the Cyclops for it. He didn't want the same feeling to crop up between him and his newest friends. He let out another sigh.<p>

"Look, I can't teach any _nin_-jutsu. But maybe I can teach some _tai_-jutsu."

Sokka managed to look surprised, excited, and confused at the same time. "Great! What's taijutsu?"

"Hand-to-hand combat. And I could probably teach you how to use a kunai while I'm at it." He drew a kunai from his pouch and twirled it in his hand a couple of times. "They're one of the great staples of the shinobi world. I know that they've saved _my_ life more than a few times-"

If Sokka was excited before, he was bouncing off of the proverbial walls now. Sure he wasn't going to learn how to smash boulders with glowing balls of energy or make copies of himself; but he had still managed to get a teacher, and from another world too! How many people could say that? Things were definitely looking up!

"-but not now."

Well, it was nice while it lasted.

"What? Why not? I'm ready!"

"We need to get Aang to Omashu. Remember the whole saving the world thing? You talk about it all the time." He had said the last part as a joke, hoping to soften the blow… with little success.

Seeing the disappointed look on his friend's face, Aang placed a consoling hand on his shoulder. "Look, we're almost there and it's going to some time for me to master earthbending. So you'll have plenty of time to train."

"Besides," Naruto quickly followed, "we'll need some supplies."

_"And I need time to actually think of some training to do."_

…

Several hours and one very confusing tunnel later, and the gang now stood in front of a very different looking Omashu. Metal buildings stood out harshly against the otherwise stone architecture, smoke rose from several factories and covered the city in unpleasant smog, a large statue could be seen being constructed in the distance, and Fire Nation banners covered the once proud symbols of the Earth Kingdom. All of these things spoke of the same tragic news. Omashu, the gem of the Earth Kingdom, now belonged to the Fire Nation. Omashu… had fallen.

"No." The word left Aang's mouth as little more than a whisper. But it was clearly heard in the silence that had taken hold of the rest of the group. "This can't be happening." It was a single sentence that eloquently summarized everyone's thoughts. No one, not even Naruto who had only known the city through stories, could quite wrap their minds around the truth. Omashu had always seemed so indestructible, like the very earth that it was carved out of… like the king that had ruled it.

_"Oh, no! Bumi!" _Aang realized with dawning horror. "Guys, we need to get in there!"

Though he should have seen this coming, Sokka still shouted in startled shock, "What! Are you crazy? Look at that banner!" He gestured to the Fire Nation symbol that now loomed over the city's main gate, "That's the Fire Nation. If we go in there we'll be captured for sure."

Aang didn't flinch – he didn't even blink. He just stared Sokka directly in the eyes, letting his resolve to show through. "Please, Bumi is in there. I can't just abandon him. I have to do something."

Naruto sat back and watched as the two continued to argue back and forth, each trying to make the other see his side. Honestly, he had to admit that Sokka's argument made more sense. Several of the stories that he had heard involved the group getting captured at least once. With such a poor record, he could understand the hesitancy to walk into enemy territory with their best chance to win the war. But Aang's argument struck a special chord with him.

_"Those who break the rules are trash. Those who abandon their comrades are worse than trash."_

It had been Kakashi's first lesson to Team 7, and it had stayed with him to this day. Aang was going to risk his life to save a friend, as he had done so many times. And his friends were telling him how bad the idea was, as his friends had done so many times. He already knew how this conversation was going to end. So why not just push things along?

Walking up behind Aang, Naruto gave him a healthy pat on the back, nearly knocking the poor boy over and effectively ending the ensuing debate. "Right, count me in!" He said cheerfully.

Aang looked grateful, but Sokka just looked confused and desperate. "What? Why do you care? It's not like you know the guy or anything." OK, so maybe that had come out a little harsher than he had intended, but he needed someone to see reason, damn it!

"Look, I get where you're coming from, but Aang wants to save his friend. In my book, there is no better reason to risk your life." Then he shrugged, "Besides, I've done things a lot crazier than this. At least this time I can say that it was someone else's idea."

Sokka sighed in defeat. Aang was dead set on going into Omashu and he knew that Katara's bleeding heart would never let her leave without at least trying to help. Naruto had been his last hope.

"Come on, Sokka." Katara spoke for the first time in the conversation, trying to make Sokka feel a little better about the situation. She, like Naruto, had known that Aang would win out in the end. Aang would never abandon someone like that, and her brother was too loyal to let him go by himself. She was glad to see a similar loyalty in Naruto. It was just another reason to be glad that he had joined their group. "You know that we can't just leave. We need to at least find out what happened. Think of it as… reconnaissance."

"Fine, but don't come crying to me when we all get captured… again." And just like that, the tension lifted. "So, how exactly are supposed to get in there anyway? I really don't think they'll just let us walk through the front door."

The Water Tribe warrior was not comforted by the knowing look that his friend gave him.

….

"You're joking, right? Please, tell me that you're joking!" Sokka pleaded. He wasn't sure what he had thought of when Aang mentioned an alternate way into Omashu, but it was a hell-of-a-lot better than a sewer. The smell was enough to make him gag and he really didn't want to think about what was in that sludge that had come pouring out of the pipe when Aang had taken off the lid. His cries were ignored and with a simple "Let's go" the group entered the sewer pipe. Aang took the lead, using his airbending to carve his path through the sludge. Katara followed with her waterbending, also easily staying dry. Naruto had decided to sacrifice a clone and use it as a shield; he would still have the memories to deal with, but anything beat actually suffering through the experience. Sokka had no shelter and had to suffer as wave after wave of sludge washed over him. Now he really, _really_ didn't want to know what was in the slime.

After several minutes which felt like hours; Naruto, Katara, and Aang emerged from the sewers and on the streets above completely dry and clean, followed immediately by a slime covered Naruto clone and an equally filthy Sokka. The real Naruto took one look at his clone before taking a deep breath and signaling the clone to dispel. Even as the slime – its support now gone – fell to the ground, Naruto was assaulted by the myriad of memories and sensations that his clone had endured on his behalf. He shivered as the memory of a particularly foul taste wormed its way through his mind, but quickly suppressed the memory before the shiver turned into full blown gagging. He had originally learned memory suppression from Kakashi to help him cope with his constant use of shadow clones. It was an extremely useful technique and no one was better at using it than him, but the memory feedback – especially in large quantities – was dangerous. The entire reason that it had been labeled a kinjutsu was not because of its ridiculous chakra requirements, but because it had been shown that the constant stream of extra memories could lead to something called memory overload which often caused blackouts and even permanent brain damage. By suppressing the memory, he could wait and assimilate the information at rate that his brain could handle – or in this case, hopefully forget about it entirely. He would have to remember to thank his teacher again for the technique when he got home.

"Ahem," Sokka cleared his throat to draw attention away from the now shapeless puddle on the ground and onto his own sewage covered form. "A little help here?" The group grinned sheepishly.

"Right, sorry." And with that, Katara promptly dumped water from a nearby barrel on her brother's head, simultaneously cleaning him and soaking him to the bone – both desirable outcomes in her opinion. He didn't remain that way for long though, as Aang quickly followed with a blast of air that both dried him off and knocked him into a pile of garbage.

"Gee, thanks." Sokka muttered, though he didn't sound particularly grateful. It took him a moment to realize that everyone was still staring at him. "What?"

"You've still got a little… something on your face." Naruto spoke slowly, as though he were trying to avoid a panic. That only worried him more. He slowly reached for his face and, upon feelings something smooth and slimy that most definitely_not_ supposed to be there, promptly freaked.

"Ah! Get it off! Get it off! _Get it off_!" he screamed repeatedly while simultaneously trying to remove the strange, octopus like creature that had attached itself to his face. But the thing refused to let go and Aang was forced to come to his rescue.

"Relax, Sokka." Aang spoke with barely suppressed laughter. "It's a little pentapus." He reached and scratched the creature's side causing it to release its captive. "See? It's completely harmless." Sokka just responded with a non-committal grunt as he rubbed the marks that were left on his cheek.

"Hey!" The group turned as one to see a group of soldiers – likely a patrol – that was now running toward them. "What are you kids doing out here? It's long past curfew and all citizens are required to – hey, what's wrong with his face?"

A brilliant thought occurred to Katara in that moment and she stepped forward before the boys could finish covering Aang's tattoos and say something stupid. "Sorry, sir, but my brother is very sick. We were just trying to get him home." In an amazing show of teamwork the other three instantly fell into character. Sokka began to moan and groan, acting very much like the sick patient that his sister had claimed him as; while Naruto and Aang moved to offer support to their 'sick' comrade.

"Oh? What's he sick with?" One guard asked. He didn't sound particularly convinced but still took a couple of steps away from the supposedly disease-riddled boy.

"Sick with? Uh, he's sick with… pentapox!" Katara exclaimed a little louder to be heard over Sokka's acting. "You really shouldn't get too close. It's very contagious – "

"Oh! I'm dying!"

"– and deadly."

The entire patrol had now backed up several feet, and was in the process of slowly increasing that distance. "Wait, I think I've heard of pentapox before." One guard suddenly exclaimed.

"Didn't you have a cousin that had it?" Another added.

"Yah, he died from it… I think." The patrol was now visibly scared and looked ready to run at a moment's notice. They just needed one last push.

Sokka suddenly jumped forward, pretending to stumble over some loose debris, and latched on to the closest guard and added in a few coughs for good measure. "Please, help me. I think I'm going to die." That did it. The guard that Sokka was clinging to started screaming as he forced the 'sick' teen off of him and ran like a man possessed, followed by the rest of the patrol – the entire group yelling about plagues and diseased children. It was another minute before the voices died down and the group could be sure that they were in the clear… and Naruto could allow himself to collapse into a fit of laughter. It was true what they say.

Nothing beats a good prank.

…

As soon as Naruto regained control of himself, the group set out to scour the city for either their friend or anyone with information on what was happening. However, after several hours of fruitless searching, they were beginning to lose hope. Just as they were starting to discuss either getting out (Sokka's idea) or finding someplace to hide out (Aang's idea) their attention was grabbed by some movement. Looking to the streets below, what appeared to a small family – consisting of a husband, wife, a teenage daughter, and an infant son – was seen traveling towards some unknown destination. The color of their clothes marked them as natives of the Fire Nation. Their armed escort meant that they were of some importance – likely some noble family that had been sent to watch over the newly acquired territory. It would be a position with great honor and great risk… as emphasized by the men who had just sent a boulder hurtling towards them.

Naruto, acting on instinct, began pushing chakra to his legs and feet as he made a mad dash to push the family out of the way. But as he drew closer, it became apparent that he would not make it in time. The rock was simply moving too quickly. A sound like rushing water was the only warning he got before a blast of air passed him and easily blew the boulder off course. He would have thanked the airbender that was no doubt responsible for the timely assistance had he not realized that he was moving too fast to stop and would now crashing head first into a prestigious family from an enemy nation for seemingly no reason. And crash he did, right into the teenage daughter of the family.

"Ow." Naruto groaned as he pushed himself up. Strange, why did the ground feel so… soft?

"You should probably get off now." A flat voice drew his attention to the girl with an equally flat expression on her face, though there was the slightest hint of a blush. It took a moment before he realized that the girl was not actually looking at him but at something further down. Following her eyes, he found that his hand was on the young woman's… assets. Years of experience with the semi-homicidal women of Konoha kicked in as he literally jumped off of his cushion and shamelessly begged for mercy.

"Please, don't kill me! It was an accident! I swear!" Naruto shouted, eyes shut, waving his hands in front of him as if to ward off some imagined attack. When he felt no pain, he calmed down enough to remember where he was and partially opened his eyes, only to shut them again. He was surrounded. "Hey guys, a little help here?" He called with his eyes still closed. No response. He turned, slowly to not startle the guards into action, to where he had last seen his friends and began to open his eyes again. This time they flew wide open, almost to the point of bulging, when he saw that they had all disappeared. He pointed an accusing finger at the empty space. "They-They left me!"

"Ahem." The young sage turned to face a very irate looking father. "You have a lot of explaining to do, young man."

"Hehehe." Naruto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his neck.

"Just what do you think you are doing touching my Mai like that?" The man's voice was completely serious and Naruto had to struggle to stay upright in his shock. That was what he was concerned about? Not the attempted assassination? Not why there was a supposed civilian out long past curfew? He was more concerned about the groping his daughter had been subjected to. Really?

A poke from one of the many spears pointed at him urged him to answer the question. "Well, you see – it's a funny story actually –Look at that!" He shouted and pointed in a random direction.

Everyone turned to see what was so interesting. They realized their folly when they turned back to find that their captive was gone. "He ran away." Mai answered to the unasked question.

A second passed.

Then another…

…and then another…

"…"

"After him!"

….

Just below the stone streets of Omashu; Aang, Sokka, and Katara were being escorted by yet another armed guard, this one baring the colors of the Earth Kingdom. "We shouldn't have left Naruto like that." Katara spoke with noticeable concern.

"I told you that we'd caught." Sokka spoke from beside his sister. In lieu of an actual response, Katara just leveled him with her best glare. He raised his hands in surrender. "Relax. You remember those stories he told us. If anyone can get away, it's him." No sooner had he finished that sentence did the sounds of alarms and the muffled shouts of men rain from above. Sokka shrugged. "See? I'm sure he's fine."

….

"Oh man, oh man, oh man. " Though Naruto sounded panicked as he dashed from rooftop to rooftop and back alley to back alley, the grin on his face told a different story. In truth, he was having the time of his life. Between the pranking and running from the guards, it was like being a kid again. Now he just needed some paint and the experience would be complete. A glimmer at the edge of his vision gave him pause. _"No, it couldn't be." _He stepped closer to the source and broke out in a face splitting grin. _"Life. Is. Good!"_

….

A couple of hours, and several paint traps later; and Naruto was fairly sure that he had lost his pursuers. Now he stood, arms crossed, on the roof of the tallest building that he could find. He had had his fun and now it was time to find his friends again and finally get out while they still could. To that effect, he had drawn in just enough nature chakra to enter sage mode and was in the process of sorting through the abundant chakra signatures to find the ones that he recognized as his friends. He found them at the head of a mob of people moving toward the city's outer gates and it didn't seem like anyone was going to stop them. In fact, any signature that was not part of the mob began to move away as soon as they came too close. Huh, weird. Shrugging off the oddity as another of the clever plans the group seemed so fond of.

He was about to drop out of sage mode and join them when he noticed another signature at the very edge of his senses. It was further into the city and deep underground. He directed his attention to this new signature to get a better feel for it. He frowned slightly. The energy was massive – easily kage level – and bared the rough quality that he was quickly coming to associate with earthbenders. So it was either a very powerful traitor or the captured King Bumi. Both warranted investigation, but there was no way that he could make it to the signature and make it back in time to leave with the others.

"Hmm." He scratched his chin and squinted his eyes in thought. Then, coming to a decision, he allowed sage mode to drop and made a clone. He sent the clone in the direction of his friends before taking off in the direction that he had last felt the mystery chakra signature.

….

It took some time, but Naruto eventually found his way to what he was sure was the holding cell of the imprisoned king. On the surface, it looked just like any other building. But it was the multitude of armed guards posted in and around it that gave away its contents. In the time that he had been watching it, he counted no less than thirty soldiers, and there was no telling how many more were waiting inside. With that plus the many traps that most definitely laced the interior, it would likely take a small platoon to capture whatever – or whoever – was inside. But he was a shinobi. This world didn't have shinobi. So they wouldn't be on guard against a henge. And he was a student of the greatest spy master that Konoha had ever produced.

"Good morning." Naruto, now henged as a stereotypical Fire Nation soldier greeted the man guarding the front door. The man returned the greeting somewhat sleepily and Naruto had to bite back a chuckle. It seemed that no matter what universe you are in, all guards inevitably get bored on the job. If you looked and acted official enough, they were bound to let you get away with almost anything.

Naruto did his best to act natural as he proceeded through the various halls and stairways that lead to his target, but he was increasingly aware of the enemies that surrounded him on all sides. He knew that every step that he took into the makeshift prison escape was becoming more and more difficult. Still, he had never let that stop him before.

He was glad when he finally came upon the actual cell. It was marked by the two guards that stood watch as well as what was probably the heaviest looking metal door that he had ever seen. That he could feel the chakra signature on the other side, even without sage mode, only attested to the strength of the warrior that it held. Right, he needed to do this quickly before a patrol decided to show up. Moving at a speed shinobi were infamous for, Naruto quickly moved forward and smashed each guard into the wall, knocking them out instantly. One hand seal later and four clones popped into existence. While two of the clones formed another seal to take on the appearance of the now incapacitated guards, the other two dragged the real guards away to be tied up and locked into a nearby closet. That left the real Naruto free to carefully open the door and slip into the cell.

…

The man known as King Bumi was a great and mighty warrior and a legend amongst earthbenders everywhere. He was a beloved king that had led his people to peace and prosperity in the midst of a terrible war. He was also very bored. He was so terribly, awfully, painfully bored. After all, what was a man to do when he is imprisoned in a metal box with only the ability to move his head? Oh sure, he had gotten some measure of pleasure from confusing the poor souls that had been assigned to watch him; but they had only lasted a few minutes before giving up and moving from inside the cell –where they were supposed to stay – to just outside the door in order to escape his 'insane ramblings' (their words, not his). So then he had talked to the rats. They had been much tougher than the guards and lasted a whole day before they too scampered off. Then he had counted the cracks on the floor… and then the ceiling… and then the floor again. And now he was just bored, so very bored.

He was just about to start counting the cracks again to make sure that none had cropped up – or disappeared – while he wasn't looking when he felt two very solid thuds reverberate through the room. A couple of seconds later and the door slowly opened just enough to allow a teenage boy with blonde hair to slip through. The boy didn't seem to notice him at first so he spoke up to get his attention. "Hello there, young man. Come in, come in. I don't get a lot of visitors. I'd shake your hand but I'm a little _tied _up at the moment. Get it? Hahahaha." He finished with his patented insane laugh. And yes, he really did have a patent on it. It was so much fun to mess with people, young people especially. The boy just stared at him with a strange look on his face. Ah, a different approach then. "Did you know that there are exactly eighty-seven cracks in this room?" Few people could take this much randomness for any length of time. It would be fun to see how long the new comer could last.

Naruto didn't quite know what to think when he walked into the dark, dank room. I mean, how badly must you fear a guy to only allow him to move his head? And then there was the elderly man himself. The man seemed awfully… cheerful for someone in his position. He was just as odd as Aang had described him to be. Naruto just shrugged. Most of his friends were just as odd. He remembered Ino saying something about it once. According to the mindwalker, the life of a ninja – especially the stronger ones – was so stressful that they would often go partially insane, often fixating on a single object or activity, to relieve some stress and prevent a total breakdown. Kakashi had his perverted book. Tsunade had her drinking and gambling. Even Kurenai, seemingly the most normal of the jounin sensei, was well known and feared for spending her free time creating new genjutsu to torture any perverts she could get her hands on.

All of this came to light at an intervention for his 'ramen addiction'.

Still, if he could put up with Lee's youth obsessed ranting, he was fairly certain he could deal with one crazy old man. "You're King Bumi I take it?"

The smile left Bumi's face so quickly, Naruto had to wonder if it had been there at all. "Yes, that's me. Now if wouldn't too much trouble, would you mind telling me your name? And then maybe you can tell me why you felt the need to knock out the guards before coming in here." All signs of the jovial mad genius were gone; and in his place was the man who could level a mountain, fight an army to a standstill, and whose home was currently occupied by the enemy.

Naruto instinctively straightened his back as he answered. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto. I'm a friend of Aang's and I've come to get you out of here."

Bumi stared at him for several long seconds before he relaxed back into his usual goofy persona. "Nope."

Naruto blinked. "No what?" Did Bumi not believe him?

"Nope, I'm not leaving."

Naruto had to restrain himself from screaming. "What! Why not?" Forget that the old man was passing up the opportunity to escape captivity; he had taken a huge risk by breaking into this fortress!

"This is my city and I will not abandon it. The time to liberate Omashu will come, and I will be here to greet it. Until then, I will wait."

Naruto felt his respect for the man – no _king_ – in front of him rise to new heights. Strong, loyal, and wise, King Bumi was a rare quality of leader and Naruto could easily picture himself calling him Hokage. His thoughts were interrupted when he felt a sudden influx of memories. Hmm, so the clone he had sent with the others had finally popped. He closed his eyes as he sorted through the memories. They knew he had gone to look for Bumi, standard lectures about being responsible, blah blah blah… what was this? "It looks like you might be getting released whether you like it or not."

"Oh?"

"It looks like Aang and the others were able to get your people out of the city, but they seem to have picked up an extra. Somehow one of the children from the family that was sent to watch this place got carried away in the rush. They're gonna trade you for the kid."

"Oh." Bumi didn't seem to be too shocked by the news. He seemed underwhelmed really. "It won't work. That's the setup for a double cross if I've ever seen one. They'll use me as bait to draw them in and then take back the kid and capture the Avatar all at once."

Bumi said all this very casually, as if he were discussing the weather, but Naruto had to admit that it would be a very 'bad guy' thing to do. "Well then," Naruto grinned, "we'll just have to make sure that they fail."

King Bumi returned the smile. "I knew that there was something I liked about you."

A minute passed.

"Want to count the cracks on the floor?"

…

The next morning found Sokka, Katara, and Aang standing at the base of the Fire Lord Statue, infant in hand. This location had been agreed upon by both parties as the best location for the tradeoff. Being inside the city meant that the resistance would be hard pressed and downright foolish to try and set up an ambush. The increased elevation meant that Team Avatar could make a clean getaway via flying bison. One side was given security while the other was given escape.

"Do you think Naruto is ok?" Ever since they had discovered that the Naruto that had joined them at the city gates had not, in fact, been _the_ Naruto, she had been fretting non-stop.

"He said that he'd be fine, right?" Sokka said to reassure himself just as much as his sister. "I'd be more concerned about whether or not these guys show up. "

"They'll come." Aang said. "They have to."

As if summoned, the figures of three girls appeared over the horizon. The first they recognized as a member of the family that they had saved from assassination. The other two teens, however, were unrecognizable. One wore perpetual smile and a bright red, almost pink, outfit that showed off her toned stomach. The other, though she wore more conservative clothes, apparently had much more expensive tastes and seemed to be made of only the finest materials and her grin carried an unsettling, predatory feeling to it. She must have been the leader as she was the one to step forward and begin speaking. "You have the child?"

With a stiff nod, Katara slowly brought out a bundle of cloth from behind her back. Pulling back the corner revealed the face of the 'kidnapped' two year old, happy and healthy as can be. Aang took a step forward. "Here he is. Now, where's Bumi?"

Raising a sardonic eyebrow, simply pointed up to where King Bumi, still in his metal box, was being lowered via crane. "Hello, everybody!" The others sweat-dropped. Somebody was in a good mood. The crane continued to lower its cargo, and for a moment it seemed that everything would actually come to a smooth and peaceful conclusion. They should have known better.

"Wait just one minute." The girl raised a hand to signal the crane to stop just before it touched the ground. "A thought just occurred to me." Here, she turned to Mai, "We're trading a two year old brat for a king, a very powerful king. That doesn't really seem fair does it, Mai?"

The taller girl looked between their captive and her baby brother for a long moment as she contemplated the decision. "You're right, Princess Azula. The deal's off." And just like that King Bumi was being lifted back into the air. The group sat there stunned. Was she really so heartless as to sacrifice her own baby brother just to keep one prisoner?

Aang was the first to come back to his self. His eyes widened as the full weight of the situation set in. "No! Bumi!" He moved to rescue his friend, but before he could take two steps Azula was in front of him, fist pulled back and coated in blue fire. Aang ducked and rolled in an attempt to get past the fire princess but she would not have it. Before he could even finish the roll, Azula was on top of him again, this time with a fire infused axe kick. Aang was forced to roll to the side to avoid the blow and earn enough time to actually stand. As he did so, he took in the situations that his friends were now in. Sokka was busy deflecting the rather deadly aim of the tallest girl. Katara was fighting the smallest and most cheerful member of the assault squad and seemed to be neglecting one of her arms. He had no time to ascertain the nature of her injury, though, as he was forced to deflect yet another fire blast from his own foe. Azula pushed her advantage and unleashed a barrage of kicks and punches, each one being deflected by the airbender's staff but still forcing him to backpedal in an attempt to keep his footing. Aang's back was literally against a wall when he finally forced Azula back with a blast of wind.

"Not bad. Though, I expected more from the Avatar." Azula spoke with a superior smirk.

Aang's eyes widened. He was still wearing the cloth to cover his markings. So how did she know? Guessing quite accurately at what he was thinking, Azula couldn't help but roll her eyes. "Why else would they send a twelve year old to a risky hostage exchange? And then there was that stunt you pulled saving Mai's family from the boulder. Tell me, just how many airbenders do you think are left in the world?"

Before Azula could retake the initiative, she was suddenly and violently sent skyward as the ground beneath her feet exploded into a mix of wood and metal shrapnel. The fire princess suffered a moment of shock – what had happened? How had someone been able to get the drop on her like that? – before she collected herself and righted herself in midair. The who's, why's, and how's wasn't important. All that mattered was that she was going to make the person pay for getting in her way. And then she was going to make sure that he never got to do it again. As she fell back down to earth, she caught a flash of color as her attacker soared above her with a cry of "Rasengan!" The figure kept going until it caught Bumi's container and, in one swift motion, cut it down. Being the heavier object, King Bumi landed first, the force of the blow almost causing him to break through the scaffolding. Naruto landed easily on top of him, kunai in hand and eyes firmly locked on his opponent.

While Azula took a moment to properly examine her latest challenger, the other fighters took the opportunity to return to their respective sides, the battle effectively halted. "Hmm." Azula tapped her chin thoughtfully. "Blonde hair, red coat, whisker marks, and a large scroll on his back… I'd say that we just found that 'Sun Spirit' we were looking for. Wouldn't you agree, girls?" Both girls nodded immediately. There weren't a lot of people out there that could meet such an outlandish description. "I thought so. Father has taken quite the interest in you. Though, you are missing the strange eyes that we were told about. What happened, 'Sun Spirit'? Do your eyes have some special purpose, or is this just the latest fashion craze?"

Naruto blinked. "The sun-who-now?" He looked around, and then pointed at himself. "Are you talking to me? Wait, what would some old guy want with me?"

Azula's eyes narrowed dangerously. "He is not some old guy. He is the Fire Lord and that makes me the princess. You had better remember that when addressing me."

Naruto just rolled his eyes and assumed a fighting stance. That was just what he needed, another uppity royal type. What was it about him that said "Snobby people please try to force your beliefs down my throat"? "Right, I'll try to remember that. So what does the great and mighty Fire Lord want with the likes of me?"

A glimmer of fury flashed behind Azula's eyes before she quickly squashed it. The boy was clearly an idiot and not worthy of her rage. "Well, it seems that after your… intervention at the North Pole, several rumors started to spread; the biggest one being of a blonde haired, whisker marked man with supernatural powers."

"Supernatural powers?" Naruto was officially confused. What the hell was she talking about?

"You know, like walking on water, or smashing ships with glowing balls of energy, that kind of thing." Right, different universe. No ninjas. "Anyway, some people started saying that you were the sun spirit in the flesh and that lead to all sorts of unpleasant conclusions. After all, if the sun spirit was angry enough to help the _water tribe _of all people, then surely the Fire Lord must have done something terribly wrong. People were beginning to question Father's leadership. And that's not good for _anybody_. So, he asked me to find you and either bring you in, or kill you. Personally, I prefer the latter."

"So basically," Naruto deadpanned, "your dad is mad because I'm ruining his reputation."

"Basically. Now, are you going to come peacefully? Or do I have to rip off your arms and legs first?"

In response, Naruto got out another kunai. "Guys," he spoke to his friends. "Get Bumi and get out of here. I'll hold them off."

"What?" Katara yelled in shock. "You can't be serious! Naruto, we were barely holding our own with the three of us. You couldn't possibly beat them all alone!"

Naruto refused to take his eyes off of his opponent, but answered anyway. "I don't have to beat them. I just need to hold them off long enough for you to get away. Besides," he smiled and brought his hands together, and five more Narutos popped into existence around him, "who said I was gonna be alone?"

Katara looked to the other boys for support but received none. "We need to get King Bumi out of here, Katara." Aang supplied. She looked ready to protest again but Naruto cut her off.

"Relax. I'll be fine." This time he took his turned just enough to offer her his best reassuring smile. "I'm not gonna die before I become hokage, remember?"

Katara finally gave in with a stiff nod. As Aang and Sokka moved Bumi to a nearby track, Katara put a hand on the real Naruto's shoulder. "Fine, but please be careful. Ok? And watch out for that one." She said pointing to Ty Lee. "I don't know how she does it. But after just a couple of hits, she took away my bending and made it so that I could barely move my arm. Don't let her get too close." With a simple nod, they parted ways. Aang launched Bumi down the track and followed not long after. Katara and Sokka followed on Appa. And Naruto turned his full attention back to the beautiful but deadly ladies in front of him.

Mai and Tai Lee moved to go after them but Azula stopped them with a raised hand. "Don't bother. I've doubled the security all around the city. They won't get far. Besides, Father was very clear that he wanted the blonde over there. The Avatar can wait." Azula said as she and the others assumed their fighting stances. "Your girlfriend is right, you know. You should have run while you still could."

"I've never have been one to run from a fight. Why start now? And she's not my girlfriend." He added the last part as an afterthought.

They stared each other down for another moment, each one waiting for the other to make a move. Surprisingly, it was Mai who started things off by unleashing a volley of throwing knives. Two of the clones came to the forefront and blocked the attack with their kunai. They moved to engage Mai, while the other three moved to occupy Ty Lee. The original Naruto squared off with Azula. Deciding to begin with a straight forward approach, Naruto charged in with his fist drawn back for a haymaker. But just as he was drawing within striking range, Azula lashed out with her own fist, releasing a blast of fire once it was fully extended. Just like Aang had done just a few minutes earlier, Naruto went into a roll to avoid the deadly flames. But unlike Aang, when his hands touched the ground half way through the roll, he _pushed_ and uncoiled his body like a spring. The result was a kick that directed the force of his entire body solely towards the princess's jaw.

It was, perhaps, only instinct that allowed her to lean back just enough to avoid the devastating blow; but it was her skill as a prodigy that allowed her to take advantage of the split second opening and grab Naruto's leg in mid extension. She looked down to smirk at the orange clad warrior and was surprised to see a similar smirk on HIS face. That was when Naruto brought his other foot down in an improvised axe kick. The awkward position prevented him from putting too much force behind the blow, but it was still enough to force Azula to let go, and she still felt the wind generated as the foot sailed by. The two separated for a moment before clashing again.

….

Meanwhile, the Naruto clones were having a difficult time with their opponents. They had tried to keep the two girls separate, but they seemed dead set on finding each other and they soon discovered why. Alone they were dangerous; but together they were damn near unstoppable. One specialized in hand to hand combat while the other preferred ranged weapons. They covered for each other's weaknesses perfectly. If any of them got close, they would be almost instantly popped by Ty Lee's strangely Hyuuga-like attacks. At least, that was what happened to the first one. If they tried to maintain their distance, then they were forced to dodge an onslaught of various sharp projectiles – many of which were aimed at a more… sensitive region of his anatomy. After avoiding yet another attempted castration, one the clones had finally had enough.

"What the hell is your problem, lady!?"As a clone, he knew that the damage wouldn't be permanent; but it was the principle of the matter. Mai just narrowed her eyes at him in a heated glare.

One of the clones was struck by an epiphany. "Wait! This is about when I ran into you, isn't it?" Mai's face picked a dusting of pink as a look of realization hit each clone's face, but Ty Lee just looked confused.

"Is that why you've been acting so strangely? Because he ran into you?"

Mai glanced at her friend out of the corner of her eye, silently willing the conversation to end, but knowing that she wouldn't be that lucky. "Not quite. It's more about the _way_ he ran into me."

"Really? Because I've never seen you try so hard at, well, anything, really. It must have been pretty bad if…. Oh-ohhh…." Ty Lee's face broke into a broad grin before descending into a pout. "Lucky."

Mai turned her full attention to the girl. "You think it's _lucky_ to be grabbed by a complete stranger?" It seemed absurd but not entirely out of the question when it came to the hyperactive trapeze girl.

"Well, you have to admit he is pretty cute." Now Naruto was blushing.

"Whatever. Can we just get this over with?"

The remaining four clones looked at each other. If they were to get popped, the original would be forced to fight all three girls at once. With how much trouble he was having with that Azula girl, it was unlikely that he could fight them all without resorting to drastic measures. They needed a plan and they needed one now. They nodded to each other in silent agreement. They separated into two pairs and quickly created two Rasengans. They charged in single file, with the non-Rasengan wielding clones in front. The lead clone easily deflected the knives thrown his way and moved in close. In a repeat of their first attempt, the clone was almost immediately hit by a small fist right over his heart. But this time, in its final moments, the clone grabbed Ty Lee's hand and allowed one of his brothers to vault off of his back, Rasengan in hand. The clone flipped and landed on the other side. Two Rasengans closed in from either side, one aimed at the circus performer, the other at the knife thrower. But it was not to be.

In an Icha Icha Paradise inspiring show of flexibility, Ty Lee bent _backwards_ and allowed the technique to pass over her. As the glowing sphere passed over her head, she sent a sharp jab to the overextended arm causing the clone, already low on chakra, to dispel. Mai's technique - though less impressive - was no less effective, as she ducked to the side and finally brought her knife home to its mark. She reveled in the squeak the clone let out just before popping.

"Well, that was close. He almost had us there for a second." Ty Lee spoke as she stood upright again. She noticed that Mai wasn't paying any attention to her and seemed to be searching for something instead. "Mai?"

"Weren't there four of them?"

The answer came in the form of two hands breaking through the floor and grabbing each girl by an ankle. They only had time to scream as they were pull shoulder deep into the planks of the scaffolding and left there, unable to move. They looked in time to see the final clone climbing out of a freshly made hole. He sent them a cheeky grin before dispelling, the last of his chakra gone.

"I hate this." And for once, Ty Lee had to agree.

….

Naruto and Azula separated again, each showing slight signs of their last clash. They had been dancing around each other's blows for the last several minutes, and neither side had been able to land more than a glancing hit until Naruto finally managed to break through Azula's defenses and land a solid punch to her face. She was rocked back by the force of the blow and had to retreat while she waited for the dizziness to fade. She reached up to touch her eye where the blow had landed and had to suppress a flinch. The area around her eye was already bruised and was beginning to swell. An indescribable rage flooded her system at that thought. She was an elite, damn it – a genius recognized across the Fire Nation for her unparalleled talent in all things firebending. She had defeated the greatest masters that they could throw at her, and now she was struggling against a single idiot who didn't know when to shut his mouth? It was unthinkable – preposterous even! She would show him. He would pay for ever daring to even think about challenging her!

"It's nice to know that the rumors weren't _entirely_ false. Even I must admit that you are quite the challenge, 'Mr. Sun Spirit'." She spoke with complete calm. Her posture was relaxed. If it were not for the black eye and the fury that burned within, one would never guess that she had just been trying to kill the boy across from her.

"For the last time, my name isn't 'Sun Spirit'. It's Naruto, Uzumaki Naruto. Remember that!"

Azula smiled. It was a cruel smile filled with promises of pain and suffering. "Oh, I'll remember it alright. I'll even write it on you epitaph!" As she spoke, she began to move her arms in wide circles around herself, electric sparks beginning to build on her fingertips. As she brought her hands back together she simply said, "Goodbye, Uzumaki Naruto."

Naruto barely had time to widen his eyes as lightning arched from Azula's fingers, cutting a fiery trail through the air and impacting him square in the chest. Azula was mildly perturbed to see her victim launched over the edge of the scaffolding. That was not how the lightning attack worked. It was pure energy and should have not carried enough force to actually knock him down. She shrugged off her worry. Even if he had survived the attack, he would have died from the fall. She would have to send some guards to pick up the body later. Right now, she had a couple of idiotic friends to free.

….

Down below Naruto now hung from a piece of timber that had been left sticking out over the edge, thanking whatever higher power that was looking out for him. He had left a clone to gather nature chakra before he had joined the battle – just in case things got rough. Now he was really glad for the forethought. He had only just enough time to pop the clone and enter sage mode, and the intensity of the attack had immediately knocked him out of it. But the protection offered by that form had allowed him to survive an otherwise lethal technique. Though it still hurt like hell.

"Damn lightning attacks. I really need to find a way around them." He shrugged it off as he pulled himself up. He had gotten the others the time that they needed, and now he didn't need to worry about getting away. All that was left was to find his friends and finally get out.

It didn't take him long to find them. Even in such a large place, a flying bison was difficult to hide. He was a little concerned when he saw the worried looks that he received upon his arrival just outside of the city walls. "Hey guys, what's up?"

Aang stepped forward, deciding to accept responsibility for the situation. "Bumi isn't coming." He stepped back again and waited for the inevitable blowup. Naruto had risked his life so that they could get away and it had all been for nothing. Anyone would be upset, and rightfully so.

"Oh, I know." Naruto spoke easily.

"What?" Katara asked in astonishment. "If you knew, then why did you stay behind?"

Naruto just shrugged. "Bumi said that he needed time to talk to Aang. I volunteered to help. It was no big deal really."

The others stared at him, incredulity written all over their faces. Finally Sokka snorted. "No big deal he says. Well, if everyone is done with suicidal missions, can we get out of here?" Not waiting for an answer, he climbed onto Appa and got ready to leave.

Aang stared at Naruto for another second before giving him the first truly grateful smile in days. "Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk with my friend."

"I told you it was no big deal." Naruto waved him off. He looked over when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm glad you're ok, Naruto." And with that, they all joined Sokka on the bison.

…

The gang decided to relax the next day to recuperate from their experience in Omashu. None of them had been seriously injured, but they had received their shares of cuts and bruises. While Aang, Sokka, and Katara were discussing where to find another earthbending master to teach Aang, Naruto went off to a clearing not far away. It had nearly been a week since Fukasaku had left to check on Konoha and it was time to summon him again. Naruto bit his thumb to draw blood and went through the necessary handseals.

"Summoning Jutsu!" He stared intently as he waited for the smoke to clear. "What the hell?!"

….

**I give all credit for the sun spirit idea to blinded in a bolthole.**

**Ok, as I said there are some things that need saying.**

**First I would like to address the whole Naruto/Katara pairing thing. I really did not expect so many people to speak out against it. I'm still going through with it, but I feel that the public is due an explanation – or rather, why I didn't go with any of the other options. The most popular request has been for Ty Lee. People claim that her personality is similar to Naruto's. I agree, which is precisely the problem. They're TOO alike. It would be like watching Naruto date himself *shiver* Toph would honestly be my next choice, but she is simply too young. I might make it Aang/Toph though. Azula… she's evil. I picked Katara because she offers balance. Simple as that.**

**Next, I cannot – will not promise to finish this story. I WILL say that I have every intention of finishing it and that it will take something big to make me stop. But that thing could happen for all I know. But if I do stop writing I will not just stop. I will let you all know and make sure that the story is picked up by another author.**

**Finally, on a lighter note, I am making a challenge to myself from here on out. I will go this entire fanfic without using the phrase "to say ****blank**** would be an understatement." I see it in every story that I read and I want to prove that one can be written without it.**

**As always, I thank you for all the awesome reviews and welcome more.**

**Next chapter is the swamp. I have things pretty well planned already so it should move more quickly…. I hope. I command you to look forward to it. I SAID LOOK FORWARD TO IT!**


	6. Chapter 6

**I am sure you have all been wondering why it has taken so long to update. I am sorry to say that I have lost all motivation to right this story, so it is with a heavy heart that I inform you that this chapter…. Pft. Nope, can't do it. Can't keep a straight face. The story is as strong as ever. Turns out that I'm just a slow writer. Who knew?**

**Anyway, I have a beta! Everyone meet serradragon, my beta; serradragon meet my readers. Serradragon will be checking for grammar as well as helping with story ideas and hopefully improving the story in general.**

**ATTENTION! There is a big announcement in the post-chapter comments so please read it (especially if you have been complaining about the pairing)**

**Now for reviews.**

**Ronnieangell – I never really thought of it as a cliffhanger and I certainly didn't expect the size of the response that it got. Truth be told, I wrote the line then said "Hey, this would be a good place to end the chapter!" And so I did. But thanks for the compliment.**

**BlackasEbony – I honestly don't try to write chapters this long. I just go in with a list of things I want to happen and start writing. I really don't get how others manage to say everything they want in just a few hundred words. I have considered cutting my chapters in half to speed up updates, but then every other chapter would be ending in a cliffhanger and that would get annoying.**

**DaDarknessWithin – True, I COULD change Toph's age but I'm trying to avoid such radical character changes. But if you want Toph and Naruto, make sure to read the post-chapter stuff. Also, Aang is only 100 years old in the most technical sense of the word. He didn't age mentally or physically the entire time.**

**I think there were others I wanted to respond to, but I can't find them. I really should start archiving them for reference. Now on with the show.**

…

"WHAT THE HELL?"

Sokka, Katara, and Aang were startled from their individual activities by the sudden noise. Katara stood up and faced the direction that the shout had originated from. "Was that Naruto?" She asked worriedly. He had sounded so upset – distressed even.

"Come on." Aang spoke as he grabbed his staff. "We better go see what's wrong."

It only took a couple of minutes to find their missing friend. He was sitting in the middle of a clearing, staring off into the distance and mumbling something to himself. As they approached, they started to make out what he was saying.

"Tadpoles. Why did it have to be tadpoles? Tadpoles." He mumbled that same phrase over and over.

"Naruto?" Katara asked gently. What happened to him? She carefully reached to touch his shoulder.

That seemed to break him from his horror-induced loop as he pulled at his hair and started yelling at the top of his lungs. "Gah! I had to work for forever to master that jutsu! How can I be back to _tadpoles_?!"

"Naruto!" Katara tried again, this time more forcefully. "Try to calm down. What are you talking about?"

Naruto looked up, as if noticing the others for the first time. Seeing the worried looks on his friends' faces, he forced himself to calm down. "I was trying to summon Fukasaku – "

"– Wait. You mean that weird little talking frog guy?"

Naruto's eye twitched. "He's a TOAD, Sokka. But yeah, that's him. Anyway, I tried to summon him but all I got was a tadpole! I know I used the right amount of chakra, so why didn't it work?" He finished by throwing a glare at the spot where the offending creature had supposedly appeared.

The others just looked at each other. Their sum total of experience in the ninja arts amounted to what Naruto had told them and what they had seen him do. Summoning was well above their level. Still, Aang, ever the helping hand, threw out the only advice that he could think of. "Has something like this ever happened before?"

"The last time I summoned a tadpole was when I first signed the contract. But back then the problem was… too… little… chakra…" Without another word, Naruto bit his thumb – causing his friends to wince in sympathy for his fingers – and went through the handsigns. "Summoning Jutsu!" Like so many times before, the cry was accompanied by a puff of smoke, albeit a very small one. This time however, there was a second shout, this one of triumph. "Yes! It worked!"

Sokka, Katara, and Aang all looked to where the smoke was now clearing away to reveal another tadpole. "I don't get it." Aang spoke in clear confusion. "How is this different than before?"

"Are you kidding? Look closer! This one has legs! That means it worked!" Naruto shouted while pointing wildly at the creature. He was grinning madly, like he had just accomplished some great feat.

Following Naruto's prompting; the others drew close to the specimen for a better look. There they were, two little legs attached to the tiny tadpole body. "Huh, he's right." Sokka spoke casually.

Katara looked up from her own examination. "What did you do differently?"

"I added more chakra!" Naruto happily exclaimed. The others sweat-dropped. That was it? He had tried harder? "Don't you get it? That means that I'm just not using enough chakra. If I can put enough into the jutsu it should work again!" With that, he began to perform the jutsu with renewed vigor, confident that he would be able to summon Fukasaku by the end of the day.

Several hours passed; the sun had set below the horizon; and Naruto had only succeeded in summoning a slightly larger tadpole.

"Summoning jutsu! Damn it, not again! Ok, one more time. Summoning jutsu!" Katara watched as the pattern repeated itself again. Naruto would attempt the jutsu, fail, and then try again. The boys had gotten bored of watching their friend figuratively – and sometimes literally – bash his head against a wall some time ago and had left to go do their own thing, leaving her to watch over Naruto's efforts. The truth be told, she was rather bored herself. The novelty of things appearing out of thin air had worn off after the first dozen times, but she figured that SOMEONE needed to stay and make sure that Naruto did not push himself too far. Speaking of which…

"Naruto, maybe you should call it a day. It is getting close to dinner time."

Naruto stood up from his latest attempt. "Huh? But I almost got it!"

Katara sweat-dropped as she looked at the tiny creature that had just been summoned. "_That's his idea of 'almost got it'? It's almost exactly the same as the first one." _Turning to Naruto, she said, "Still… we'll be heading out again tomorrow. You should get your rest."

Naruto wanted to argue – to tell her about his incredible healing rate and all of the times that he had trained himself to exhaustion, only to awaken the next day as if nothing had ever happened. He wanted to tell her all of this, but he was stopped by the look in her eyes. It was one he recognized very well. All of his friends had used it on him at one time or another. It was a look that said, "I won't back down. It's for your own good." He had never once won the argument once they had gotten that look. He let out a sigh as he resigned himself to his fate.

"Aw come on, Katara! I know that I can get it. Just give me a little more time, please?" Hey, just because he knew he couldn't win didn't mean that he couldn't try. He was Naruto Uzumaki after all.

Katara just rolled her eyes and, in a move of almost disturbing familiarity, grabbed his ear and proceeded to drag him back to camp, with Naruto complaining the whole way.

…

True to Katara's word, the gang was up and boarding Appa early the next morning. They had spent dinner the night before discussing their current situation. The loss of King Bumi was a major blow on both the tactical and personal level. The master earthbender had acted as a deterrent to the Fire Nation war machine. For years, the Fire Nation had been forced to stay out of deep Earth Kingdom territory for fear of drawing too close to the mad king and the damage that he could create. Now that he was gone, they would likely become far more aggressive as they tried to capitalize on their victory. But worse than that was the loss of Aang's friend and teacher. Bumi was the only earthbending master that they knew of. Without him, the gang was left without a replacement or even a place to start searching for one. In the end, they decided to just find the nearest town and start asking around. They really had no other choice.

So they set off with no immediate destination in mind save that, wherever it was, it was Fire Nation free. Currently, they were flying aimlessly over a massive swamp. They had been trying to fly their way out of it for the last hour and were starting to get worried. Even from their elevated view point on Appa's back, they could not see the edge. There was nothing but a sea of trees in every direction, making it dangerously easy to wander. They had been paying special attention to their surroundings for fear that they might start traveling in circles and, as the minutes turned into hours, their fears seemed more and more well founded. It wasn't until their sixth straight hour of wandering that they finally received a lucky break, though it probably did not seem like it at the time.

"Uh… guys?" Sokka spoke hesitantly from his seat.

"What?" Katara snapped somewhat irritably. Several hours of non-stop flying, coupled with the stress of being unquestionably lost had left the entire group in a foul mood… except for Naruto. After an the first hour had passed and it had become clear that it would be some time before they found their way out, Naruto had sat down and closed his eyes, stating that he would be meditating. He hadn't so much as twitched since.

"Well, pardon me. I just thought that you would like to know about the giant _tornado_ heading right for us!"

Aang turned to see the giant whirlwind that was chasing them and quickly gaining ground. "Where did that come from?!" Aang yelled out. He didn't expect an answer and he didn't wait for one. Turning to the front of again, Aang cracked the reins with a shout of "Yip Yip!" Taking the command from his master, Appa immediately began to accelerate in an attempt to avoid the storm behind them. However the storm proved to be too quick and continued to close the gap between them. Aang began turning them left and right in a desperate attempt to get out of the storm's path. To his immense shock and horror, the tornado matched their flight path turn for turn. It was practically on top of them now.

Finally abandoning the idea of running all together, and amidst Sokka's screams to "Wake up, Naruto!" and "How can he still be asleep?", he moved and prepared to do the only other thing that he could think of. Ride it out. He moved to the center of Appa's saddle and raised a wind barrier around him and his friends. If he was lucky, the barrier would hold and the storm would simply pass over them.

He was not lucky.

He felt more than anything as the hurricane force winds impacted his shield. There was a small moment of triumph as his own winds held off the assault. That triumph quickly turned into horror when, instead of passing them as it should have, the tornado slowed to match their speed; effectively stopping on top of them. The wind barrier couldn't hold out against the extended exposure. It shrank, then buckled and collapsed. Appa, as well as all of his passengers, were sent crashing violently into the swamp below.

…...

Naruto groaned as he pulled himself from the tangle of vines that he had found himself in. He had been so deep into his meditation, thinking of ways to strengthen his summoning technique that he had not noticed the tornado until it was on top of them. He had briefly thought of using the Kyuubi's chakra and had immediately thrown the idea out. Yamato wasn't here to stop him if things got out of control and he couldn't be sure that even Aang, powerful though he may be, would be able to halt his rampage. The Kyuubi was known to level entire mountains with little more than a thought – a literal force of nature and not something to be trifled with. That left him with two options. Either he could work to naturally increase his reserves (something that required far more time than he actually had). Or he could use nature chakra. On the surface, it was a good idea. The addition of nature chakra would amplify any jutsu. He chuckled at the memory of sending a very surprised Gamabunta flying with an overpowered Rasengan. There was, however, one glaring problem. He had only meant to force the toad boss back. In other words, his control _still_ sucked. It was made worse by the potency of nature chakra and the fact that he had to maintain the balance between the nature chakra and his own. The end result was that he had very little control over the power in his sage techniques. Overloading the summoning technique once had landed him here. What would happen if it overloaded again? He wasn't sure if he wanted to find out.

So he had sat and meditated and thought… and thought… and thought. Demonic possession, breaking one of the most complex jutsu in the shinobi world, or being forced to wait as his friends were in danger… or worse. Which to choose, which to choose. He had been on the verge of a decision when the storm struck. He had come out of his meditation with just enough time to stick himself to Appa with chakra before Aang's barrier had collapsed. The quick application of chakra had allowed him to stay on longer than the others. But then they had hit the tree line and the thick foliage had easily pulled him off. Now, as he stood and took in his surroundings – from the murky water, to the low hanging vines and the plethora of gnarled trees – and began to wonder if he would have been better off without the almost instinctual chakra exercise. At least then he would have had a better chance to land near his friends. Instead, he landed much further away but still short of wherever the flying bison had wound up. He was alone. What's more, he was alone in an extremely creepy and almost definitely haunted swamp.

Fantastic.

"Well," he spoke with a huff, "there's no use in crying over it. Come on, Uzumaki! You just have to find the others, find Appa, and get the hell out of here. Simple." Not as good as one of Sakura or Kakashi's speeches, but it would have to do. Looking to check the first item off of his to-do list as quickly as possible, he stilled himself and began to draw on the energies around him. He couldn't risk proper meditation. While it would have made entering sage mode, and the subsequent searching through the natural energies, easier; it would have also left him vulnerable and open to attack and shadow clones were far too fragile to offer an effective defense. Fukasaku had been rather adamant about driving home that particular weakness. So he settled for the less efficient method.

It took several minutes, but eventually the tell-tale orange pigment appeared around his eyes, signaling his entry into sage mode. Immediately he stretched out the enhanced senses that this state allowed him and began to search for his misplaced friends. He was both surprised and dismayed by what he found. He was surprised by the amount of life that existed in the seemingly dreary swamp land. Insects and lizards skittered to and fro along the ground; an untold number of birds filled the space above him, either sitting on branches or flying just over the tree line; and he could even sense the almost frightening number of larger, predatory, animals as they lurked and waited for their next meal to come along. He was distressed because there was _too_ much life. With so many creatures living so close together, and in constant motion, their chakra signatures became blurred and indistinguishable. He could barely pick out what was in his immediate vicinity, much less his friends who were apparently much further away.

He opened his eyes with a sigh, allowing the various animals around him to watch as his eyes shifted from their toad-like yellow back to their natural blue as he let the nature chakra leave his body.

"Guess I'll just have to do this the hard way." And with that, he took off into the trees.

…...

In another part of the swamp the rest of the gang currently found themselves in a situation both similar to and far worse than Naruto's.

"Come on, guys, put your backs into it and _pull_!"

"Shut _up_, Sokka!"

"Ow! Katara, watch it! I'm injured here!"

"You're not injured; you're stuck. There IS a difference."

"Uh… guys, maybe we could save this for later?"

"Right. Sorry, Aang. On the count of three. One… two…. _three_!" And with a final yank, Sokka was finally pulled free of his tree-shaped prison.

"Honestly, Sokka, only you could manage to fall from the sky and directly into a tree hollow." Katara grumbled as she dusted herself off. It wouldn't have been nearly as bad if he hadn't been whining the whole time. He could be such a baby sometimes.

"Hey, don't blame me. Blame that freaky storm."

"Where'd that tornado go anyway?" Aang's inquiry gave everyone pause. It was true. As soon as they had landed, the storm that had been so fierce just moments before had instantly vanished without so much as a breeze to indicate that it had ever existed at all.

"Huh," Sokka muttered, seemingly unimpressed. "weird."

Katara was about to make her own comment on the oddity when she noticed the distinct lack of orange in their group. "Where's Naruto?" The others looked around, finally taking note of their missing member.

Sokka decided to point out the obvious. "He must have gotten separated in the fall."

"I hope he's ok." Katara spoke with worry clearly written on her face.

"We should try to find Appa. Then, we'll be able to search for Naruto from the air."

Katara looked at Aang in disbelief. That plan would have made sense if they had been almost anywhere else. But here, in a densely populated swap, an aerial perspective would be useless. He had to realize that. So why would he suggest going after Appa first? If anything, Naruto would be more useful. His strange cloning technique would be able to make short work of the search. She supposed that Aang could simply be more worried about the flying bison. From what she understood, the two had basically grown up together. Naruto was practically a stranger by comparison. Hell, they all were. But somehow, that didn't quite seem to fit. Aang wasn't the kind of person to put one friend's safety over another's. So why –

"Come on, Katara. We should get going." Sokka spoke. Of course, he recognized the flaws in Aang's plan as well as his sister did, but he also recognized the need for action. No one was going to get found by standing around and talking. Besides, it didn't really matter who they looked for. Luck would decide who they found first. Seeing his sister still so unsure, he decided to embellish a little. "I'm sure Naruto is fine. Think about it. This place is freaky, he's freaky. He probably feels right at home."

…

"Gah! Son of a bitch!" Naruto screamed as he pulled off yet another leech that had decided to latch onto him. How the little bastards always managed to get the drop on him, he wasn't sure. It didn't seem to matter how far up he went; he was still forced to stop every few minutes to remove another leech. Worse still was the slime that they covered themselves in. Not only did it make the beasts harder to grip, but the stuff coated his hands each time. Each time _that_ happened, he had to take even more time to clean his hands, else he would risk losing his grip at an inopportune time and plummet to the ground. It was turning into an almost constant drain on his time and he was quickly running out of patience.

Of course, the leeches weren't the only problem – just the most prevalent. Shortly after his failed attempt with sage mode he had made several clones and commanded them to fan out to search for his friends… only for them to get lost themselves. So he was left to search by himself. In his short time there, the swamp had proved to be a wellspring of dangers, setbacks, and generally unpleasant experiences. As a toad sage, he was supposed to be one with nature. But he knew that between the constant smell of rotting eggs, the bizarre noises being made by the swamp's even more bizarre animals, and the slime covered… everything, this swamp would quickly drive him insane. He needed to find the others, and quickly.

Finally finishing with his latest hitchhiker, Naruto decided to employ his most tried and true method for avoiding the unpleasant – spawn large numbers of shadow clones and let them take the hit for him. Several pops and one argument on clone rights later, Naruto was on his way again.

….

"Alright, guys, I think it's about time to make camp for the night." Sokka spoke as they broke through another wall of swamp vines. "We can use this clearing as our campsite." By clearing, he meant where the roots of one of the swamp's many enormous trees rose out of the murky water to create a kind of wooden island. Comfortable it was not, but at least they would be relatively dry and away from the more dangerous creatures of the wild.

"But what Naruto, and Appa, and Momo? They're still out there." Katara argued.

"We're not going to find anyone by stumbling around in the dark. This place is too dangerous to try to navigate at night. We should wait and start searching again in the morning."

Katara looked ready to protest some more, but Aang cut her off. "He's right, Katara. We've been searching for hours. Our focus now should be rest. I'm sure Appa, Momo, and… Naruto will be doing the same thing."

Katara stared at her friend for a moment. It had been brief – only an instant really – but Aang had hesitated at Naruto's name; and a strange look had crossed his face – like he was being forced to think about something unpleasant. She had been suspicious before, but this confirmed it. Something was going on between Aang and Naruto, or at least with Aang. She couldn't be sure that Naruto knew anything about what was going on. But whatever was going on, something was making Aang uncomfortable enough with the blonde ninja that he would actively avoid thinking about him and she was going to find out what – after they were all out of danger of course. For now though…

"Ok, you win. Sokka – " She looked to find that her brother hadn't even waited for her to agree before he started setting up for the night. Currently he was chopping down some loose timber, presumably for a fire.

"Uh… Sokka?" Aang spoke up, sounding hesitant. "I don't think you should be doing that."

"Huh? Doing what?" Sokka asked as he carved up another limb to use as kindling.

"That. I don't think it's a good idea to be so disrespectful to the swamp like that."

"What, you're serious?" Sokka looked at Aang like he had gone crazy. "Aang, it's just a swamp. A weird, creepy swamp yeah; but it's still just a swamp. And I don't know about you, but I would prefer _not _to freeze to death tonight, thank you very much." He emphasized the end of his statement with another chop.

"Still, ever since we've been here I've had this feeling. I don't really know how to put it, but it's like the swamp is _alive_ somehow. I just think we should be careful."

"Oh, come on! Katara, what do you think?"

Katara looked between the two uncertainly. Part of her agreed with her brother. They had been trudging around in the cold, dank swamp lands for hours and nothing sounded better at the moment then drying off by a warm fire. But the other part of her wanted to listen to Aang and knew that, even though she couldn't feel anything herself, ignoring these kinds of things usually led to trouble – especially when it involved the Avatar. She decided to be on the safe side.

"I think you should listen to Aang. He's usually right about these things."

"What? You too? You know what, fine. Let's ask the swamp." He turned to the limb he was currently cutting. "You don't mind me using you for firewood do you, Mr. Swamp? 'No problem, Sokka!'" He imitated the swamp in a goofy voice. Katara just rolled her eyes, but Aang looked genuinely distressed. That caught Sokka slightly off guard, but he brushed it off as Aang being overly emotional again and easily went back to collecting his firewood.

Eventually Katara and even Aang joined in and the camp was ready in time for nightfall; though that was mostly due to the fact that there was nothing to set up. All of their equipment was still safely strapped down in Appa's saddle. So now they sat, without sleeping bags and without tents, huddled around the small fire that they had managed to start, trying to keep warm and ignore the terrifying noises around them.

By the time the last of them had finally managed to fall to sleep, the moon was high in the night sky and the fire had burned down to just a few smoldering embers – the bright light it emitted reduced to a faint glow. It had taken just one minute more for several vines that had been previously been lying harmlessly on the ground to begin snaking their way to the sleeping travelers. It took another five minutes for them to actually reach their destination. It only took an instant for them to wrap around their victims and drag them off in three separate directions.

…

Naruto yawned as he stretched from his place on the high branch that had served as his bed the previous night. He had managed to get a surprisingly nice night of sleep, all things considered – certainly not the worst night of his life. He had searched well into the evening before finally deciding to call it a night. He had been surprisingly tired by that time and had barely remembered to set some basic traps before passing out for the night. He wasn't sure what deity was responsible for keeping the creepy crawlies off of him while he slept, but he would be sure to give an offering in thanks as soon as he found out. Now he was rested and ready to start his search anew, with only a mildly sore back to show for his trouble and that would be gone within the hour. He received more good news while tearing down his traps. Apparently some poor unfortunate creature (a snake/monkey?) had strayed too close and had gotten itself caught. "Awesome, breakfast! Maybe my luck is finally turning around."

He should have known better.

He was so excited about the unexpected meal that he forgot to send clones ahead of him when he resumed his search. He had quickly remembered once leeches started attaching themselves to him again. From there it had been a repeat of the suffering from the day before as he searched fruitlessly for his friends.

That had been several hours ago and noon was quickly approaching with still no sign of his companions. He was just begging to consider sending out a few clones to fetch some lunch when a sudden flash of movement caught his attention. Or rather, it was the source of the movement that interested him (because there was plenty of movement in these swamps; most of which he preferred not to think about). It had been on the edge of his periphery vision and had only lasted an instant; but Naruto had learned long ago to trust his gut, and his gut was telling him that it was an orange coat that had flashed through his vision. This alarmed the young shinobi for two reasons. First, clothing meant humans – the first human contact that he had had since entering the swamp. Second, and more alarmingly, he couldn't think of anyone other than himself who ever dared to wear orange. There was someone else in the swamp; someone he had never met; but someone he was sure as hell going to meet now. Without another thought, he took off in pursuit of the mystery person.

Naruto wasn't sure how long he had been chasing the figure that he now had firmly labeled as "the creepy guy who avoids human contact at all costs" in his own mind. It could have been minutes. It could have been hours. It had taken every ounce of his concentration just to keep up with the stranger. Every time he sped up to close the gap between them, the stranger would speed up to match him or make some impossibly sharp turn that required him to slow down to follow. It was maddening! Naruto narrowed his eyes as he noticed something rather peculiar. No matter how fast the person in front of him went, he never made any noise.

None.

Zero.

Perfectly silent.

That was suspicious… and worrying. Naruto knew that there were people in this world who could move quickly. He had seen Aang move at insane speeds with the aid of his airbending. It wouldn't be too difficult to believe that other benders could find similar methods to enhance their movement. It also wasn't difficult to believe that there would be people in this world who trained in stealth and silent movement. But to find someone who could move at these speeds _and_ do it silently… only a ninja could do that – and a well-trained ninja at that. This world was already under a great deal of stress from a prolonged war. He wasn't sure if it could take it if his friends – or worse – the Akatsuki showed up as well. He shivered in equal parts dread and rage at the thought of the leader of the terrorist organization. Ma and Pa had filled him in on the fight between his teacher and the man that fancied himself a god. That man wielded a devastating kind of power. He was practically unstoppable in the shinobi world and would only be doubly so here, where they had no experience in fighting ninja. Naruto forcefully broke off his chain of thought. Pain might be powerful, but so was he. He had surpassed his master and would stand ready when the time came to face the villain.

Naruto was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost didn't notice when the person he had been chasing stopped – only just able to stop his forward momentum before he went too far. He felt a moment of personal satisfaction at finally catching up to his target, but that satisfaction quickly gave way to shocked horror when he saw who it was.

Standing before him was not one, but two people. The first was a woman. She was not remarkably beautiful; but she did have a sort of grace about her. One would almost call her pretty. Her hair was undoubtedly her most outstanding feature – waist long and colored a bright, fiery red. It matched her equally red dress and caused her pale blue eyes to stand out. Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that there was something familiar about this woman. The curvature of her face, the shape of her ears, the slight tweak of her nose; he would swear that he had seen those features before. But no matter how hard he tried, he just couldn't bring those features together to form a name. He would have thought more on it, had it not been for the shock of seeing the second person.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, a coat that he had originally thought to be orange but was now clearly seen as white with orange flames. How could he not recognize this person? The only time he paid attention during history lessons was when he was mentioned. He saw his face every day on the mountain that overlooked his village. Before him stood one of the greatest and most feared shinobi of all time, his idol, the man who had changed his life on the very day that he was born. Naruto now stood face to face with the Fourth Hokage, Minato Namikaze.

"No… n-no. You're dead. You're supposed to be dead! What are you doing here!?" The fourth said nothing in response. In fact, had Naruto been in a calmer state of mind, he might have noticed that there was no sound at all – not even from the coat that was fluttering in a non-existent wind. But all he could see was that insufferable smile that seemed permanently etched on a face that should not be there. He was sure that smile was meant to mock him as the former Hokage wrapped his arm around the redhead next to him.

"Say something damn it!" Naruto rushed at the man, fully intent on beating the man until all of his questions were answered. What was he doing here? _How_ did he get here? Did he have a way to get back? And then, after all of his anger had been sated, then maybe he could get an answer to the question that had haunted him for so long.

"_Why me?"_ Even though the question – originally fueled by anger and frustration – had changed as he had learned to accept his unique status, and was now more of a matter of curiosity than anything; it still tended to keep him up at night. He wasn't really mad at the former Hokage, and he certainly didn't blame him. He was all too familiar with the power of the Kyuubi, and knew that just sealing the beast was an accomplishment worthy of the highest praise. But he had always had that nagging question in the back of his mind. He had always wondered why the greatest of Hokages had chosen _him_ of all people. Was there some special reason to use him as the vessel? Or had he simply been the closest available newborn? Was it even possible to be that unlucky? According to Tsunade, yes it was.

As Naruto drew close, he reached his hand out to grab the man's collar. He was caught by surprise when his hand passed through the older blonde without resistance. Left without a way to slow down in mid jump or even a way to move the older blonde, Naruto had little choice but to close his eyes and wait for the impact. But again, Naruto was surprised by the distinct lack of physical contact. Once both feet had landed and he had yet to meet anything but muggy air, he opened his eyes.

The Fourth Hokage, the mystery woman, and indeed the whole swamp had disappeared. Now he stood in the middle of what appeared to be a massive crater – spanning at least several miles from edge to edge. Surprise and confusion turned into horror as he took notice of the burning debris and building remains, and realization slowly dawned. This crater – this disaster area – was once a village. He was only vaguely aware of the nausea threatening his stomach or the tears that were streaming down his face. He was increasingly aware of the bodies scattered around him. Some were moving – writhing in agony – others were chillingly still. A multitude of cries reached his ears. Men crying out in pain, women shouting for help, children begging their parents to wake up. Each sound tore at Naruto's heart and for the first time in his life, he wished that he could be the emotionless weapon that many thought shinobi were supposed to be.

And then he looked up.

This time there were no shouts of shock and anger. There was no nausea and no tears. There was no reaction at all as he gazed up at the five stone faces that composed the Hokage Monument and the destroyed village was suddenly given a name.

Konohagakure, the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Naruto just stood there, taking breathes that grew increasingly ragged with each passing moment. Shock had numbed him against all feeling. He didn't feel anger, or grief, or even when the Kyuubi's chakra began to consume him.

….

As he avoided yet another wall of vines that threatened to squeeze the life out of him, Sokka decided that this adventure – while not the worst he had ever been on – easily made the top ten; and was quickly moving up with every minute that he had to spend in this smelly, muddy, and possibly haunted swamp running for his life from a crazy vine monster.

After the group had been separated by what he now assumed to be the same vine monster; he had spent the entire night cutting through obstacles and trying to find the others or, failing that, find the campsite again. He had finally managed to find someone around dawn, and it had most definitely not been the person he had been expecting.

Sokka was forced to dive out of the way of another strike as the memory of the moon spirit-cum-girlfriend momentarily distracted him. There were very few people he expected to run across in his search - his friends and Zuko being firmly at the top of the list (how the angst-y teen always managed to find them, he would never know) – but she had not been one of them. The shock of seeing his lost love interest, along with the memories it dug up as well as the emotions attached to them, overrode his better judgment ; sending him running after her image.

Sokka still stood by his "nothing supernatural is in this swamp" theory. And if anyone accused him of otherwise he would deny it to the day that he died. But when following the vision had lead him to reunite with his friends, and upon discovering that his friends had experienced similar hallucinations; even he had to admit, if only to himself, that something strange was going on.

And then the giant swamp monster had shown up.

And now they were fighting for their lives again, and he swore to himself that he would studiously avoid all swamps in the future.

"Guys, this isn't working." Aang spoke up as the strange being used the surrounding vines to repair the latest damage done to it. That was another thing. No matter what they did to it; no matter how many times they cut its arms off or how many times Aang blasted it; it would heal in a matter of moments and then resume fighting as if nothing had happened. This pattern had already repeated itself several times and despair was starting to set in as they realized that the monster was showing no signs of slowing down. At this rate, it was only a matter of time until they tired out and the battle would tip in its favor. "Maybe if we try attacking all together-"

Aang's battle plan was cut off by a wave of… fear. Or at least, that was the only word he could think of to describe the sudden sensation that swept over the battlefield. Everyone – even the monster – froze in their tracks as they were overwhelmed by a feeling so deep, so primal, that their every thought was consumed in the need to escape it.

Then, as quickly as it had come, it vanished.

A rustling noise drew their attention to the pile of vines that was in the place previously occupied by the monster. Some of the vines shifted to reveal an overweight man wearing a loincloth. He appeared to have been just as shaken by the malicious feeling as them. His face was unnaturally pale and a thin sheen of sweat had developed on his brow. The two sides stared at each other for another minute before the man broke the silence with an awkward smile.

"Hey there; nice weather today isn't it?"

…...

Ironically, it was the Kyuubi's chakra that brought Naruto out of his daze. The vision had only lasted for a few seconds before disappearing but the image remained, burned into his mind's eye. He had stayed there, just staring into space, until a strange crackling noise had made its way into his awareness along with a burning sensation along his torso. After blinking a couple of times to clear his vision, he looked down… and had to blink again. Red chakra was leaking out of his stomach and was spreading over his body. Already it had reached his feet and the heat it generated was causing the wood to burn, crackling at odd intervals as the water within evaporated.

"Oh, crap!" Naruto had to fight down a wave of panic as he realized the implications of the red chakra. The Kyuubi was trying to take advantage of his distress to break free and there was no one to stop it this time. He had to get a hold of himself.

Meditation always did wonders to calm his nerves and help him to think clearly. He knew that he was risking an ambush, but it was highly unlikely and the risk of releasing the most powerful bijuu was far greater. So, getting into the traditional lotus position, he slowed his breathing in an attempt to clear his mind. He felt it as the nature chakra began to flow through him, adding its strength to his own. He took a moment to note that the nature chakra was actually acting to help suppress the Kyuubi's chakra. That would doubtlessly be helpful later on. Setting that aside, he resumed his exercises.

"_Breathe in."_ He needed to calm down.

"_Breathe out."_ Konoha would be ok.

"_Breathe in." _Even if they were attacked, they were strong. He needed to have faith in them.

"_Breathe out."_ He _did_ have faith in them.

He could feel the Kyuubi's chakra receding, along with his raging emotions, until he was left with nothing but the slight burning sensation that always followed exposure to such a corrosive chakra, and even that was quickly fading. He did not stand though. Instead, he stayed focused and allowed himself to enter full sage mode. Something was up with this swamp and he couldn't afford to waste any more time searching for his friends. So he extended his enhanced senses and began to studiously sift the multitude of chakra signatures for ones that he could recognize. It took some time, but he was eventually able to locate everyone. Thankfully, Aang, Katara, and Sokka were all moving together along with a fourth signature that he didn't recognize, and they were moving in the direction of what he knew to be Appa and Momo's signatures. Good, if this kept up, they would be out of the swamp by nightfall. He stood but he did not release sage mode as he took off. He would stay in sage mode as long as he could. It would give him a much needed speed boost and allow him to monitor his friends' chakra.

"_Plus,"_ he thought as he easily side-stepped a leech. _"I can finally get one up on those stupid leeches."_

…...

The sage chakra had run its course by the time he reached the others, so he was unprepared for the battlefield that greeted him upon his arrival. It was clearly divided into two sides by a standing wall of water. On one side stood his missing friends and on the other were two… people for lack of a better term. They were a strange pair. One was tall and skinny, bordering on malnourished, while the other was short and clearly overweight. Their dark complexions as well as the various forms of plant life that covered their bodies marked them as denizens of the swampland. Both sides were fighting for control of the wave, trying to push it onto the opposing side but both unable to do so. He frowned slightly when he saw Sokka just standing there. It looked like he had just finished freeing Appa from some kind of netting, and was now content to leave his contribution at that. Naruto's frown shifted into a maniacal grin. Someone was in for some serious training after all of this.

Naruto turned his attention back to the battle. The fighters were talking to each other. He couldn't understand what they were saying, but he figured that it was just the usual mid-battle banter. More importantly, none of them had shown any sign of noticing him. Good. He still had the element of surprise. Quickly making a single clone, he got ready to make his move.

…

"You're waterbenders too? Why, that makes us kin!"

Katara cringed at the tall man's declaration. She was thankful for the discovery of their shared lineage because it brought their conflict to a quick and peaceful ending, but she really didn't want to think about being related to them in any way. She cringed again when one of them shamelessly picked at his ear; hopefully they at least weren't _directly_ related.

She gave a strained smile. But before she could properly respond, a pair of Narutos dropped from the tree canopy and directly on top of the swamp hillbillies. In an instant, both of the plant warriors were pinned, hands behind their backs and kunai at their throats. Well, at least now they didn't need to go look for him.

"Ha! Got you!" One of the Narutos shouted. His victorious grin was mirrored by his look-a-like, but before he could continue gloating he was interrupted by Aang's frantic shout.

"Naruto, don't! It's ok. They're friendly." Aang wasn't sure if Naruto was really going to use the knives in his hands and he didn't want to find out.

Naruto looked at him in confusion. Friendly? Hadn't they been fighting all of two seconds ago? He knew that he had a reputation for making friends out of even the worst enemies but this was pushing it. Unless… Had he misread the situation? He had thought that they were fighting; but he had to remember that he was in a strange world with presumably equally strange customs. That could have been some form of greeting between waterbenders for all he knew. Damn it, did he just attack another innocent bystander? Sakura would kill him if she ever found out!

The skinny native looked up and seemed brighten instantly. "Hey, Huu! What you been up to?" He spoke as happily as if he didn't have a razor-sharp edge resting against his jugular. The question drew Naruto's attention to the bearded man stepping out from behind Appa. He guessed that he was the unknown chakra signature that he had detected earlier.

"Oh, you know. Bent some vines; scared some folks the usual." The man spoke with a light, carefree tone that showed no distrust in the person that he was addressing. Naruto looked to his friends. None of them appeared to be surprised or distressed by his presence. That did it. The man trusted the two captives and his friends trusted him. Naruto had officially jumped the gun.

He slowly released his captives and made his way to his feet and dismissed his clone, though he kept his kunai in hand. This whole encounter was proving to be a little too similar to his first meeting with Kabuto for his comfort. With his free hand, he helped the two to their feet. Quickly falling into old habits, Naruto rubbed the back of his neck and placed an embarrassed grin on his face.

"Eh he, sorry about that. Can't be too careful you know?" He offered his hand again, this time in an invitation to shake hands, which they gladly accepted.

It was the shorter man that answered. "Shoot, no harm done. Coulda' happened to anyone. My name's Tho, by the way, and this here's Due."

This time Naruto's grin was genuine and stress free. "Naruto, Naruto Uzumaki."

…

"I don't get it. How can you eat that stuff?" Sokka asked as he looked at Naruto in mild disgust.

Naruto looked up from the giant insect he was currently devouring and shrugged. "Ma and Pa eat this kind of stuff all of the time. It's not so bad once you get used to it."

Sokka just shook his head at his friend's bizarreness and went back to searching for something eatable amongst the various items cooking over a sizable bonfire. After all of the misunderstandings had been cleared up, the swamp benders had invited Team Avatar to stay the night in their village. Given their dismal experience the night before, they had gladly accepted the invitation. Now they all sat comfortably around a campfire as they filled each other in on what they had each encountered in their time in the swamp. Naruto had told the others about his vision about the Hokage and the mystery woman, though he left out the part about the vision he had had about a destroyed Konoha. He didn't want to talk about it or the violent reaction it had elicited. In turn they had told him about their meeting with Huu and the explanation that they had received about the visions. Apparently, the swamp was alive – or something like it – and would sometimes show travelers visions of dead loved ones to remind them of their bonds.

Naruto wasn't entirely sure how to feel about that. On the one hand, he was glad. The Fourth Hokage wasn't haunting him from beyond the grave and he was still the only ninja in this world. On the other hand… seeing the Fourth made a certain amount of sense. Though he had never met the man, they did share a rather unique bond through the Kyuubi. But what about that woman? Despite the sense of familiarity he got from her, he was sure that he had never seen her before. And then there was the vision of Konoha. He couldn't think of any time in Konoha's history when the village was decimated that badly. Oh, it had seen its fair share of war. All major villages had. But conflict had almost never reached the village walls. The closest thing he could think of would be Orochimaru's invasion during the chunin exams, but even that didn't compare to what he saw. That didn't leave a lot of options. Either the image was completely false, or Konoha would soon be destroyed. Or maybe it already had. An increasingly familiar feeling of panic began to rise in his system, but he quickly squelched it. He had faith in his comrades and worrying about it would do no good. Still, he resolved to use sage mode and attempt the summoning technique again the next time he had the opportunity. Risk or no risk, he needed to find out what had happened to his home, but until then…

"Pass me another roach, please."

…...

**Ok, so let's talk.**

**First; Naruto's power levels. This is likely the second biggest complaint I get after pairings. Just know that I am still adjusting his strength. I have never written before so I have to experiment and find an healthy balance so that Naruto has an impact on the world but isn't overwhelming. You'll likely see power levels fluctuate wildly for a while as I boost some abilities and nerf others. Be warned though, Naruto will likely be at least a little weaker than cannon. Because, let's face it, how exciting would the story be if every fight began and ended with "And Naruto entered sage mode and blew everyone up with a rasenshurikan." You know? So, please, have patience and I will try to find a solution that satisfies everyone.**

**Now for something that I am sure you'll love. Ahem, I realized lately that, for someone who says that romance is only a small part, I may have been rather… bullheaded about the whole thing. With that in mind I will be posting an honest to goodness poll (as in the poll section of this website) as soon as this chapter goes up. In it, you will be able to vote on which girl you would like to be paired with Naruto. The voting will go for two weeks before the winner is determined. I will try to make the list of options as complete as possible with two exceptions. I am removing Azula because I already have plans for her and I am removing Ty Lee because my beta asked me to.**

**Now that I've given you plenty of reason to yell at me, please feel free to review. But only pairing votes made through the actual poll will be counted. So… yah.**

**Next: Toph enters the picture at last.**

**Look forward to it… or not. Meh, I don't really care.**


	7. Chapter 7

**Well, here is the second part just like I promised. Before we go any further, I would like to announce that I have picked up a second beta. Vandenbz will be going over my chapters for me to help catch the mistakes Serradragon and I let slip through. Now for reviews!**

**Dawn of Daybreak****: Yours has got to be one of the most thought out of the reviews I've received. Thank you for the complements by the way. About the flashbacks; I originally planned to use italics for them, but then I ran into problems whenever I had thought dialogue. I'll see if I can't distinguish them more though.**

**Millionth Guest****: I haven't come to a decision about bijuu mode yet, beyond that it won't be involved until the end. At the moment, I'm considering a sort of imperfect bijuu mode. But I likely won't make any final judgment until I actually reach that point in the story.**

**Orillion****: Thanks for the advice. Consider the all caps dropped. As for the rest, please note the above author comments.**

**Anonymous****: I hope this satisfies you. I'm still trying to figure out how to write good fight scenes.**

**EVA-Saiyajin****: The way that I write most of my material is by taking the scenes from the show and dropping Naruto in the middle. I sit there and try to imagine what his presence would mean and write accordingly. I know some things come out almost identical to the original but that is because I don't think Naruto's presence would actually change it.**

**Sparklybutterfly42****: Yah, I'm working on that.**

**Blinded in a bolthole****: Hey, I said that I was a slow writer. 0)I honestly haven't thought that deeply about it. It's enough for me to simply say that they are two different universes. Don't get me wrong, it's a cool idea but it would be difficult for me to write it in smoothly and I'm not sure it would be worth the extra effort. If anything, I would suggest writing your own story around it. 1) Sleep is my personal favorite pass-time. 2) Again, I haven't thought that far. I'm pretty much just making this up as I go. 3) To Toph!*clink***

* * *

><p>Naruto frowned as he looked at the variety of knives and swords that littered the walls around him. After Team Avatar had been escorted out of the swamp by the… interesting people that lived there, it had taken them several days to find civilization again. They had all immediately sought out the nicest hotel that they could afford and rented a room. It had seemed like a good idea at the time. They had all been overexposed to the wilderness over the last few days and were eager to enjoy the luxury of agood bed. Katara had made a B-line to the bathroom to draw a bath and was not seen again until hours later. Aang, though he had been initially interested in the room, had eventually wandered out into the hotel's garden where he enjoyed a less hostile side of nature. Sokka and Naruto had found a common interest in their love of sleep.<p>

They _had_ enjoyed themselves and would probably make the same decision given the chance, but that self-indulgence had left them short on funds. Normally this wouldn't be a problem. They could gather their own food and sleep in tents if it came down to it, but certain supplies needed to be bought and that required money. At the moment, Naruto was looking at one such purchase.

Though Sokka had not brought it up again, Naruto remembered what he said about training the WaterTribe warrior and the conflict in the swamp had only served to reinforce the need for improvement. He still didn't have a concrete plan, but he preferred to play things by ear anyway. But he did have a couple ideas of where to start. First would be weight training. Sokka's arms were woefully underdeveloped for a close range fighter. Then, he would need to find the teen a decent ranged weapon. The boomerang was **a**good start, but he needed other options to fall back on if he ever lost it in battle or if it simply wasn't enough to get the job done. But those things required money. And money was hard to come by these days.

"Naruto, did you find what you were looking for?" Naruto looked up as his friends entered the shop. He shrugged.

"Sort of. They have what I'm looking for, but it's all too expensive. What about you guys?"

Sokka shook his head in the negative. "Same problem. This town has plenty of stores, but we can't afford anything they're selling. It's like the whole town was built to cater to rich people." He walked further into the weapons shop and began to peruse the wares. "So what were you looking for anyway?"

Naruto grinned. "Actually, I was looking for training equipment for you," His grin turned teasing. "or are you chickening out?"

Sokka blinked as he recalled the conversation that they had had before entering Omashu. If he were to be perfectly honest, he had forgotten about it. It had been overshadowed by the whole "the Fire Nation has conquered one of the Earth Kingdom's last great strongholds" thing. But he was still willing and able to learn. In fact, knowing what they did now about how close the Fire Nation was to victory in the war, the need to grow stronger had only increased. He began examining the weapons with a renewed vigor, excited at the possibilities they held.

"So what are you getting?" Sokka asked.

Naruto just shook his head. "I'm not _buying_ anything. We don't have any money, remember?" Sokka deflated significantly at the reminder of their financial situation, but perked up at Naruto's next words. "But that doesn't mean we can't start training anyway."

"Oh, what are we going to work on?" Sokka was practically jumping off of the walls at this point, "Stealth training, how to read your opponents, or how about-"

* * *

><p>"Running?!" Sokka's voice was tinged with disbelief and more than a little disappointment as he looked at the track in front of him. After leaving the weapons shop, Naruto had lead the group to a lake located just outside of the town's walls. Well, he had led Sokka to the lake. Aang and Katara had followed out of curiosity. "I ask you to train me and you give me running?!"<p>

Naruto frowned at his friend's rant; both because it made Sokka sound like a spoiled brat, and because it reminded him a little too much of himself in his early genin days. _"How did Kakashi ever put up with me?"_ After another minute of listening to Sokka complain, he decided to speak up. "Look, you need to increase your endurance if you want to do anything more advanced. All of the fancy moves and clever tricks in the world won't help you if you don't have the muscle to back it up. Don't worry. After you can run a few laps around this little track, we'll move on to other stuff." That "little track" happened to a hiking path that followed the four mile circumference of the lake. Somehow, Sokka was not comforted by the ninja's words.

"Good luck, Sokka. We'll see you later." Aang said cheerfully; glad that the attention was on someone else for a change.

Sokka snapped out of his despair as Aang and Katara began walking back to the town. "Wait, where are you guys going?"

He had been silently hoping that they would stay and share in his misery. Alas, Katara just gave a smile that was mildly apologetic at best and said, "We're going to try to find some money." She paused a moment before adding in a false thoughtful tone. "Unless you _want_ to sleep on the cold hard ground after all of your training." She didn't wait to hear her brother's response before walking off. Sokka just sighed in defeat as he resigned himself to his tedious and likely exhausting task.

* * *

><p>For the next several hours, Naruto watched as Sokka ran laps around the lake. He started off fairly strong and only seemed to be slightly winded at the end of his first lap, though you would have suspected that he was being subjected to the worst forms of torture from the way he complained. However those early results quickly proved to be misleading. By the end of the second lap, Sokka's breathing was labored and his face had noticeably reddened from the effort. Sokka was visibly struggling and was literally crawling on his hands and knees when he completed his fourth lap and finally collapsed.<p>

Naruto strolled over to the fallen warrior and casually kicked him until he rolled over onto his back. "Well, I give you an 'A' for effort." Naruto tried to keep the grin off of his face.

"My… lungs… are… _on fire_!" Sokka groaned from where he lay, and this time Naruto didn't even try to fight his smile. How many times had it been him lying there on the ground, exhausted from whatever crazy training program his teachers had thought up? It was rather nice to be on the other side for a change.

Tossing Sokka a towel, Naruto continued speaking as if he had not heard him. "But you have a long way to go if you want to do the kinds of stuff that I do. Take a few minutes to catch your breath and then I want you do pushups and crunches – fifty each." Sokka just groaned in response.

Naruto sat back and watched as Sokka's breathing slowly evened out. He was fully prepared to kick the young warrior until he resumed his exorcises, but was pleasantly surprised when Sokka got up on his own. Oh, he grumbled and complained and used some words that Naruto was sure were inappropriate; but then he got down and started doing his pushups, counting each one out loud. Content that his new student wasn't going to shirk his exercises, Naruto allowed his mind to wander. Inevitably, his mind strayed to the events not two days prior.

…(flashback)…

Naruto stood in the middle of an open meadow as he prepared to hopefully summon his toad companions and finally get some answers. It had been a couple of days since Team Avatar had left the swamp and he thought it was past time to get into contact with his home world. Truthfully, he had wanted to try summoning the moment that they left the swamp, but had decided to hold back. What he was about to do, was largely experimental. He could summon Fukasaku like he hoped he would, or he could summon one of the larger mountain sized toads, and everything in between. Hell, with the amount of chakra he was about to pour into this technique, it could just as easily explode, taking out anything within one hundred yards. So now he stood in an empty field with no trees or buildings in sight and his friends all standing some distance away.

Naruto sat down in his usual lotus position and began drawing on the energies around him. He took a moment and let the comforting chakra calm his nerves. There was a lot riding on the summoning jutsu, not the least of which was his ticket home. Naruto didn't consider himself to be an idiot. At the very least, he had come a long way from the "dead last" of his academy days. But he could safely say that he was a long way away from understanding intra-dimensional travel. That coupled with this world's lack of jutsu knowledge, meant that it would be mostly up to his friends and colleagues to get him home again. If he couldn't get into contact with them, then he was effectively stuck where he was.

Setting aside his worries, Naruto stood and began to go through the required handsigns. He worked slowly – focusing on each sign and how they molded his chakra. After a full minute of tense concentration he finally slammed his hands to the ground, followed by the usual cry of "Summoning jutsu!" As with his previous attempts, a cloud of smoke erupted from underneath his hands, accompanied by the usual "poofing" sound. However, this time it was followed by another sound; on which Naruto had never been happier to hear.

"Naruto-chan?" an aged voice called uncertainly from the smoke as it cleared to reveal the form of a small toad. Naruto smiled in relief at Fukusaku, more commonly known as "Pa", and his teacher in the sage arts. His smile was quickly replaced with an angry frown when his head came under sudden assault from the same toad.

"Ow! What the hell, Pa?! What's wrong with you?" Naruto cried as he tried to fend off the smaller sage.

This seemed to only enrage him more. "What's wrong with _me_? What's wrong with _you_?! What took you so long to summon me?! Do you have any idea how worried we were?!"

Naruto's anger evaporated in an instant. Pa was just worried about him. When he spoke next, his voice was calm and hinted with affection. "Sorry Pa, but it took a lot more chakra to summon you then I thought it would. Heck, I had to use sage mode to finally get it to work!"

Fukasaku let out a long sigh. "I understand. I forgive you."

Feeling that he safe from his teacher's wrath; Naruto allowed the last of his nature chakra to leave his system, and turned to greet his friends as they moved to cross the field now that the danger had apparently passed. But the moment he took his eyes off the small toad, he had to catch himself as something impacted the back of his head. He turned around to see Fukasaku standing there, holding the stick that had been used during Naruto's sage training in his hand and a smug look on his face.

"Ow! What the hell?! I thought you said that you forgave me!" Naruto shouted as felt the back of his head for the bump he was sure was developing.

"I did. That one was from Ma." Pa calmly explained, never losing his smug smile.

Before Naruto could make a snappy comeback, he was cut off by the arrival of his friends. Sokka was the first to speak as he poked and prodded their visitor from various angles, still fascinated by the idea of summoning. "So, I guess it worked huh? What did you do different?" When Fukasaku grew tired of the annoyance, he swung at the offending appendage, forcing Sokka to abandon his studies in favor of self-preservation and eliciting a laugh from most of the group.

Naruto however, was eager to get back to the reason he had brought Fukasaku to this world in the first place. "So, what good news did you bring me? Am I going home or what?" He asked hopefully. Whatever hopes he had were crushed with the downturn of Fukasaku's eyes.

"I'm sorry. The toads are looking, but so far we haven't found anything that could safely bring you home." Fukasaku said, hoping Naruto wouldn't ask further. He was thoroughly disappointed.

"Just the toads huh? What about my friends in Konoha? They didn't forget about me already, did they?" Though his tone made the question sound light-hearted and joking, Naruto felt a cold pit of worry settle in his stomach as the images that he had seen in the swamp came back to the forefront of his mind. That cold pit quickly turned into ice as Fukasaku's posture seemed to slump even further.

"Naruto I…" For the first time in many years, the elder toad found himself at a loss for words. How do you tell someone that their home was essentially gone – reduced to a pile of rubble? He could still remember his visit, as he walked through a village trying to recover from the devastating blow that it had been dealt. Thousands of civilians constrained to a few hundred emergency tents; medical tents overflowing with the sick and wounded; Ninja scrambling to maintain some semblance of order despite their devastated ranks. It had taken the better part of a day to finally find the Hokage to get some answers… only to find her in a coma. Thankfully, her apprentice, Sakura Haruno, and his own wife had been there to give him all of the information he needed.

Deciding that it would be best to be blunt, he took a bracing breath, "Naruto-chan, Konoha has been attacked." He paused to let Naruto, whose face was now set in a blank stare, to absorb that fact. "The Akastuki leader attacked in hope of capturing the Nine-Tails. Once he realized that you weren't there, he launched one final attack that destroyed the village and left. I won't lie to you; Naruto-chan. Konoha is in shambles. A lot of people are dead."

"What about my friends?" Though Naruto asked the question, his face had not changed and his voice had been so quiet that Fukasaku would have almost believed that he had imagined it.

"Most of your friends are fine. Though some were severely injured, they should make a full recovery in time."

"…most?"

Fukasaku sighed. This was the one thing he wanted to keep from his student beyond all else, but Naruto had asked and he would not lie to the boy. "Tsunade-chan and your teacher, Kakashi, are both in deep comas. We do not know when or if they will recover. And… Shizune-chan is dead. I'm so sorry, my boy."

Naruto did nothing for several seconds, though it seemed like hours. Finally he said, "I…see." and vanished in a burst of speed.

"Naruto!" The shouts of Aang, Katara, and Sokka as they made to go after him caught Fukasaku's attention. Honestly, he had forgotten that they were there. Seeing that they were going to try to find his distraught student, he intervened.

"Wait." He spoke in what he hoped was a calming voice. "Leave him be. He needs some time to come to grips with what he just learned."

"Are you crazy?!" Katara's voice was filled with a mixture of incredulity, panic, and worry. "He shouldn't be alone when he's in a state of mind like that. What if something happens to him?"

"Trust me. I've seen what that boy is capable of. He has a strength of will that far exceeds anything I've ever seen before. Give him some time, and I guarantee he'll come back better than ever." The others seemed doubtful but Fukasaku had spoken with such conviction that they couldn't find it in themselves to disagree. A distant explosion shook the ground. "Besides, you really don't want to be anywhere near him right now. Like I said, I've seen what he's capable of."

Without another word, the group left to go make camp for the night. Fukasaku decided to join them, stating that he would stay until he was sure Naruto was okay. No one spoke that night. They pitched their tents, made their fire, and ate their dinner all without uttering a word. And when they went to bed, they did so in complete silence sans the distant explosions and cries of a man in mourning of everything he helddear.

…(end flashback)…

He hadn't returned to the camp until morning. And then he hadn't spoken until that evening despite his friends' best attempts to cheer him up. He was sure some time in the distant future, others would be joking that it was the longest he had ever gone without talking. Naruto suppressed a laugh as he remembered the startled reactions he had gotten when he finally did speak. It _had_ been rather… sudden.

"I am going to kick. His. Ass!" That single declaration, shouted in the dead of night, perfectly summed up all of his ambitions for the near future. He was going to get stronger. He was going to get home. He was going to hunt down the man who had _dared _to attack his home. And then he was going to beat him up to and within an inch of his life. Then, if he was feeling merciful, he would haul what was left back to Konoha to officially pay for his crimes.

His friends, of course, had agreed wholeheartedly with his plans and had promised to help him in any way possible. Fukasaku in particular had been eager to help. It was odd because the elder toad had never seemed like the vengeful type. But according to him, it wasn't about revenge. The monster known as Pain had become a plague on the world and he was sure Konoha had only been the beginning. He needed to be stopped before the damage became irreversible. Avenging his fallen student was just a bonus. That thought brought him to the day before they had arrived in town and the latest of his growing list of problems.

…(flashback)…

Fukasaku ducked under the foot of his apprentice only to immediately jump away to avoid the fist that followed it. Flipping in mid-air, he landed at the edge of the crater Naruto had just created and readied himself for the next onslaught. After Naruto had declared his resolve to bring Pain to justice, the elder toad had informed the group that he would be staying one more day before returning to Mt. Myoboku, to help Naruto get started with his training. The next morning, both sages had been up and sparring before dawn. Of course, training had only been an excuse – a thin veil to cover the true purpose of the sparring session.

Naruto had spent several hours working through his anger and frustration, but the near destruction of his home had left him with a lot of grief and destroying lifeless boulders only went so far. In the end, the teen was still left with a lot of rage, though he did an admirable job of hiding it. Under normal circumstances, Fukasaku might have left the boy to work through his issues on his own. But isolated as he was, he feared Naruto would only suppress his rage and try to pretend everything was ok. Such denial was dangerous – doubly so for a jinchuuriki. At the same time, Naruto could not simply vent his frustrations on just anyone. There were few people in the world that could stand up to the full strength of a sage. It wasn't arrogance, it was fact. And there were even fewer who would willingly subject themselves to that strength for anything less than a matter of life or death. So Fukasaku had decided to fill that particular role and proposed an early morning spar.

It would seem that he had made the correct decision as it was only now, several hours later, that Naruto's attacks were slowing – his blows losing their intensity. Finally, after delivering one final axe kick which succeeded only in further scarring the land, Naruto backed off and allowed himself to drop out of sage mode. For a moment, teacher and student simply stood there and stared at each other as Naruto tried to convey through his eyes the gratitude he could not express verbally. However, Naruto was quickly forced to break eye contact as he was hit by a sudden wave of nausea. He closed his eyes and fought to stay upright as the ground seemed to sway beneath his feet.

Fukasaku automatically stepped forward in worry as he took in Naruto's swaying form and increasingly flushed appearance. "Are you alright, Naruto-chan?"

"I-I'm fine. Just a little tired." His excuse sounded weak in his own ears.

Fukasaku put a hand up to the boy's forehead and cringed when he felt the heat radiating off of the exposed skin. He had spoken briefly with Tsunade before he had taken Naruto for his sage training to learn a little about his new pupil. One of the first things to come up had been the Kyuubi and the effects that it had on him. It was quite the impressive list: increased stamina, rapid healing, and chakra levels that easilysurpassed a kage. Then just recently Tsunade had documented another side effect of Naruto's jinchuuriki status. Living so long with the beast sealed inside of him for so long had granted Naruto a measure of immunity to its toxic chakra. This allowed a small amount of the Kyuubi's chakra to be present in his body which would act almost like a second immune system, attacking any foreign entities in his system. As a result Naruto was rarely sick and never seriously so. For Naruto to become so sick so suddenly… it was worrying.

"No, Naruto-chan, you're not. You're burning up. Why didn't you tell me you weren't feeling well?"

Naruto almost flinched at the hurt tone in the toad's voice. They hadn't known each other for all that long, but they were practically family. Fukasaku was upset that his surrogate grandson would lie about his well-being. "I was feeling fine earlier!" Naruto almost shouted to cut off that chain of thought. "It just sort of hit me when I dropped out of sage mode."

Fukasaku narrowed his eyes at the revelation. It was possible that it was just a big coincidence but… "I want you to avoid using sage mode for a while. Okay?"

"What?" That intelligent response was all Naruto could manage. All of that work to master nature chakra and now he was being told not to use it? "Come on, Pa. Don't you think you're overreacting. It's not that serious is it?"

The elder toad fixed Naruto with that look that all grandparents seemed to keep in reserve for when their children/grandchildren were being particularly dense. "Naruto-chan, I'm sure I don't need to remind of the delicate situation you're in. There are no medic-nin in this world. The people of this world simply do not know enough about chakra and its properties to properly heal a ninja. You need to be careful right now." Fukasaku watched as the truth set in and Naruto's mood dropped accordingly. He sighed, the boy was so emotional. Honestly, it was a miracle that he had managed to master sage chakra at all. He decided to offer some conciliation. "I'm not telling you to completely abandon your sage training. And this could all turn out to be one big false alarm. But just in case it isn't, please just hold off on it for a little while. Save sage mode for emergencies, at least until we can be sure that it's safe."

Naruto's shoulders drooped a little more as he finally accepted the truth. Stuck in another world, hishome attacked, and now afflicted with some mysterious illness; it just seemed to be one thing after another. The feeling of something impacting with the back of his head snapped him out of his depressing thoughts. He looked down at Fukasaku who was once again brandishing what he had now official dubbed "Pa's hitting stick" in his own mind. "None of that!" The elder toad spoke in a stern tone. "I will not have any apprentice of mine moping around like a child." Naruto instantly straightened at the commanding tone. Fukasaku nodded approvingly. "Good. Now here is what you are going to do. You're going to get up, train, and grow stronger until you can crush any obstacle in your way; because you are Naruto Uzumaki, my apprentice, and you aren't capable of anything less." He grinned as the fire seemed to return to Naruto's eyes. "That's more like it. Now, as long as we're talking about training…" He said slyly as he pulled out a scroll from behind his back. I think it's time we advanced you to the next level." The old toad almost laughed as his apprentice whooped for joy. The boy was just too easy sometimes.

…(end flashback)…

Naruto reached into his back pouch and pulled out the scroll he had been given. Inside was a number of the toads' jutsu and beginner's instructions in the art of sealing. Being who he is, he had naturally been excited at the prospect of learning new techniques and growing stronger. But when Fukasaku had revealed that the scroll was the very one used in Jiraiya's training, he had almost started training right then and there – happy to have found another way to emulate the old pervert that had somehow earned his respect. Fortunately Fukasaku had knocked the sense back into Naruto and told him to return to his friends at the camp, lest he worsen his already questionable condition. Then he had made Naruto promise not to start on the new training for at least twenty-four hours to make sure that he was fully recovered, knowing that Naruto would never be willing to break a promise. The fact that he had informed the others about Naruto's strange ailment and left them with strict instructions to inform him if Naruto attempted to train too soon didn't help matters. Still, Naruto's sage training had taught him nothing if not patience. If it meant getting the strength he needed to avenge his home, he could wait a few measly hours… especially with Sokka offering such great entertainment.

Speaking of his new student, Naruto must have been daydreaming a little too much, because when he looked up again, Sokka had just finished his last set of crunches and collapsed onto his back. If the teen was tired before, then he was exhausted now. He was completely red-faced from exertion and he was drenched head to toe in sweat. Naruto's lip pulled up in a cringe as an awful smell assaulted his nose. He certainly smelled like a hard day's work. "Alright," Naruto said, "take a minute to catch your breath and then cool down with some stretches. Then you can call it a day."

"Too tired, can't move." Sokka spoke without moving.

Naruto just nodded. "Which is exactly why you need to stretch your muscles out now. Trust me. If you don't, you'll regret it tomorrow when you're too stiff and sore to even get out of bed." He broke into a sadistic grin and something mischievous could be heard in his voice. "And you'll _really_ regret it when I make you get up anyway and you have to do this all over again."

Sokka managed to pull himself into a semi-upright position with some effort. "…I'm starting to regret asking for your help."

Naruto just shrugged unapologetically. "Maybe, but it'll pay off later when you're kicking everyone's asses. Now do your stretches."

"Sokka! Naruto!" Both boys looked up as they were approached by an excited Aang and Katara. As the two approached, they took note of Sokka's distressed appearance. It was Aang who decided to comment. "Geez, Sokka, what did Naruto do to you?"

When it appeared that Sokka was too tired to talk, Naruto decided to answer for him. "Nothing much, just some basic exercises. Sokka's just being whiny." The others looked a little dubious, so he decided to quickly change the subject. "So, what were you two so excited about?"

"Oh yeah!" Katara said happily, producing a small flyer. "We may have found someone to teach Aang earthbending! Or, at least we found somewhere to find a teacher."

Taking the flyer from the waterbender's hand, Naruto read out loud. "Earth Rumble Six. Come watch the world's greatest earthbenders battle it out in the world's greatest underground earthbending tournament… what kind of underground tournament hands out flyers?"

"Who knows?" Katara said as she took the flyer back from Naruto. "I got this one from a couple of boys in town. They were talking about it out in the open so it can't be that big of a secret. They probably just said that it's underground to make it sound better."

Naruto nodded approvingly. That would make sense. Aang spoke up. "The flyer says that the tournament finals are tonight. I know that if we go, we can find an earthbending master to teach me."

Naruto just hummed in response. He stepped over to Sokka, who was still refusing to move from his spot on the ground, and gave him a healthy kick in his side. "Ya' hear that, Sokka? Looks like we're going out tonight."

Sokka, being Sokka, gave the wittiest response he could think of at the time. "Unnnnn…"

* * *

><p>"Maybe they call it an underground tournament because the stadium is literally underground?" Sokka, newly recovered from his training session, questioned as he stared at the stone structure before them. Row after row of stone bleachers raised several stories from the ground; all surrounding a rectangular central arena in which the contestants would do battle. The whole area was lit by a mixture of mounted torches and what appeared to be giant glowing crystals. All in all, it was quite the impressive sight, even more so because the whole stadium seemed to have been carved out of a natural cavern. It would have taken quite some time to create, even with earthbending. Once more, the entire stadium was <em>full<em>. Everywhere people yelled and shouted, cheering for their favorite fighters and demanding that they come out and fight for their entertainment. Every so often, a fight could be seen breaking out between two fans who got just a little too excited.

Carefully, Team Avatar wormed their way through the crowd until they managed to arrive at the strangely empty bottom rows. They were just about to sit down when a particular cry reached Naruto's ears over the roar of the crowd.

"Bets here! Place your bets here! A few measly copper pieces are all that stand between you and a life of luxury."

Naruto searched for the source of the rough voice and spotted it near one of the stadiums many entrances. There, there was a seeding looking man behind a portable counter, shouting to draw in customers as they walked to their seats. Despite the man's beady eyes and dirty appearance scaring off some of the gamblers, there were still a lot of people rushing to make their fortunes. Naruto folded his arms and thought. He had a few copper pieces still left in his pocket that he had set aside on the off chance that he found some ramen, or at least something ramen-like, in this strange new world. On the one hand, the odds displayed on the bookie's counter were fairly good, and there was the potential to win a large sum of money if someone was willing to take a few risks. On the other hand, this was his ramen money he was risking. If something went wrong and he lost what was left of his money, then he would have nothing to use during the ramen emergency that he was sure was coming. Should he keep the bird in his hand; or risk it all for the two in the bush?

"Naruto, what are you doing?" Katara's voice drew him from his internal debate.

Making a snap decision, he formed a quick handseal, confident that no one would notice the small puff of smoke or the sudden presence of an extra person in all of the chaos. Handing his money to the clone, he gave it instructions on what bets to make and watched it start making its way through the crowd before finally taking his seat. He turned slightly in his seat so he could face Katara. "Nothing. Don't worry about it."

The waterbender raised an eyebrow at the evasive answer but didn't comment further. A moment later the sound of the ground of the ground rumbling drew both of their attentions down to the arena where, much to Naruto's surprise, a man with long black hair and dressed in nothing more than a green vest and pair of pants literally popped out of the ground.

"Good evening ladies and gentlemen! I am your host, Xin Fu; and welcome… to_** Earth Rumble Six**_!" The man's low rumbling voice was still barely audible over the roar of the crowd. "Tonight you will watch as the greatest earthbenders in the world battle it out for the title of Earthbending Champion!" Xin Fu punctuated the statement by punching the air. "The contestants will enter two at a time and fight to push each other out of the ring. The first one to touch the ground outside of the arena loses, while his opponent advances to the next round. The last man standing will earn the right to face off against last year's champion and the chance to earn the title of Earthbending Champion!" Again the man's voice was drowned out as the roar of the crowd **rose** to almost deafening levels. "Now, help me welcome the first two combatants: The Bouuuuulder! And The Big, Bad, Hipppooo!"

As he called each name, another man appeared in his own unique show of earthbending. The first – The Boulder – was the definition of "meat head". His brown hair – a typical color in the Earth Kingdom – was done up in the usual top knot and his beard was rough and un-kept, likely because he thought it made him look manly. He was also very large and his shirtless attire showed off a myriad of bulging muscles. But as large as he was, he only came up to the shoulder of his opponent. The Hippo was simply enormous. However, unlike The Boulder, he was covered in fat – not muscle. The crowd favorite was instantly obvious as the majority of the crowd cheered for The Boulder and chose to boo The Hippo.

Xin Fu seemed ready to continue his monologue but was cut off by The Boulder. "The Boulder hassomething to say!" He yelled obnoxiously into the microphone. He faced The Hippo and stood on his tiptoes to get more into his face. "You'd better give up now, Chubby. _The Boulder _is going to crush you and grind you into itty bitty pieces. _The Boulder_ is to chew you up and spit you out. And then, _The Boulder_ is gonna walk all over you all the way to the finals!" At the end of his speech, The Boulder turned to the crowd, raising his hands in a silent signal to cheer more loudly. Had he been a wiser man, he would not have turned his back to the giant whom he had just insulted. Had he been a wiser man, he would have stayed facing his opponent long enough to see his face contort in rage and pick up a sizable chunk of rock from the arena floor. Had he been a wiser man, The Boulder may have been able to avoid the boulder that struck him directly between the shoulder blades. But he wasn't; and so he didn't; and so he was sent careening to the ground, landing ungracefully on his face. Taking this as his signal, the host quickly jumped away and made room for the two combatants to do battle. He stepped out just in time for The Boulder to pick himself up and launch his counterattack. And just like that, Earth Rumble Six was underway.

Despite the impressive preamble, the fight was over fairly quickly. Only a few glancing blows were exchanged as The Hippo was forced to the edge of the arena before being forced out when The Boulder literally took the ground out from underneath his feet. The crowd cheered as Boulder advanced to the next round. This pattern continued on for some time. An opponent would be introduced. They would fight. And eventually The Boulder would emerge victorious before advancing to the next round.

As they approached the finals Katara spoke up. "What about him, Aang?" She said, gesturing to TheBoulder as he tossed a strange, mole-like man out of the arena. "He seems pretty good."

Aang didn't seem so convinced. "I don't know… Bumi said that I should find someone who listens to the earth. I think he's just listening to his muscles." Naruto couldn't help but agree. These people were good but they were too showy. Their moves were overly complicated and exaggerated, leaving plenty of openings for anyone who was willing to exploit them. It sort of reminded him of himself when he was younger – all too concerned with appearances and not concerned enough with staying alive. Had it not been for the Kyuubi, he likely wouldn't have lived long enough to wise up and get serious. With the things Aang was facing, he definitely didn't need that kind of teacher.

"And now we come to the main event!" The announcer's voice cut off any further debate. "On my right stands the challenger. He's big. He's bad. He's _the_ one, _the_ only, Bouuuulder!" The crowd was beside itself as their champion-to-be practically danced around the arena. After giving the crowd some time to quiet down, the host continued. "You've watched as he rumbled, and tumbled, and stumbled all the way to the finals. And now he stands before you, ready to face our reigning champ. Please join me in welcoming our reigning champion – the unstoppable, undeniable, the _unbelievable_, the Bllllllliiiiiiind Baaaaannndiiit!" The champion received an almost identical welcome as The Boulder but that was not what caught the attention of Team Avatar. No, what caught their attention was that the Blind Bandit could not have been any older than them. In fact, she looked like she may have been one or two years younger than Naruto**.**

She was fairly small, with short cropped black hair and pale eyes that reminded Naruto vaguely of the Hyuuga clan. All of these things made it difficult to believe that she was a fighter – much less a champion – and having a title like "The Blind Bandit" certainly didn't help. Katara voiced her thoughts, and indeed the thoughts of everyone in the stadium. "She can't really be blind… can she?"

"No. I think she's really blind!" Aang spoke with no small amount of amazement in his voice.

The crowd broke into hushed murmurs as most of them had never seen the champion before and doubted the legitimacy of her title. Things like "There's no way she's blind. It's totally a gimmick," and "That's the champion? Man, The Boulder has this one in the bag!" and other such sentiments could be heard amongst the whispers.

The Boulder certainly didn't seem impressed. "What is this? You expect The Boulder to fight a little blind girl? Go home, little girl, before you get hurt." He bowed up and moved closer to emphasize his size advantage.

If his tactics intimidated the girl at all, she did an excellent job of hiding it. She simply "looked" him in the eye before letting out a hardy, exaggerated laugh. "_You_, hurt _me_? That's a good one, 'The Boulder'." She said his name with almost tangible sarcasm. She smirked as The Boulder's face reddened in rage. "Aw," she spoke as if she were talking to an infant, "are you gonna cry? Maybe we should call you 'The Baby' instead."

That taunt was more that Boulder's fragile ego could take. He snapped and lashed his foot out to catch the girl in the head. His foot never connected as The Bandit used her smaller stature to duck neatly beneath his kick. She followed with a kick of her own but aimed it at the ground. At the point where her heel connected, a small pit – maybe an inch deep – formed in the ground as the earth caved in. In the same instant a small piece of earth, the same size as the hole, rose underneath The Boulder's heel. With his other foot still in full extension from his kick, The Boulder was easily pushed off balance and sent stumbling forward. He didn't get far before Toph brought her fist up and along with it, a single cylinder of rock. Because of her small stature and still crouched position, the stone pillar impacted squarely on The Boulder's groin; simultaneously launching him from the arena, breaking his pelvis, and ruining any plans of reproduction that he may have had for the near future.

There was a deathly silence as the audience tried to wrap their minds around what they had just seen. The fight had ended so… quickly.

"What happened? I blinked and I missed it." The anonymous cry seemed to be the trigger as the entire crowd suddenly went into an uproar. Some cheered, appreciating the show of skill for what it was. But the overwhelming majority screamed in outrage – using a myriad of boos and hisses to express their displeasure at the abrupt end to their entertainment.

"How did she do that?" Katara asked as she tried valiantly to ignore her brother who was demanding a rematch next to her.

"She waited. She waited and listened." Aang could barely contain his excitement. This was exactly what he was looking for. The Blind Bandit fitted the qualities King Bumi had described almost perfectly. She would be the perfect teacher, he just knew it! Now he just needed a way to approach her…

As if on cue, Xin Fu's voice broke through over the noise of the crowd. "You want more? Fine! Which one of you wants to challenge our champion? No takers? What if, on top of the title, I throw in this big bag of gold? What do you say now?" Xin held up a sizable bag of gold in an attempt to lure out any reluctant contestants.

Aang stood as quickly as possible, determined to be the first one to confront The Blind Bandit and perhaps discuss training. But as quick as he was, he was still not quick enough. No sooner had he finished standing did he hear Xin Fu.

"It looks like we have a taker!"

Aang looked to the arena below and was more than a little surprised to see none other than Naruto eagerly waiting for his fight to start. Startled, he snapped his head to the side where the blonde had been sitting not moments before, only to find it empty. "Wha – when… how did he do that?!" Aang shouted as he turned to his equally startled looking friends who could only shake their heads in response. They all knew that Naruto was fast, but not that fast! Aang frowned as he sat back down. Naruto may have just inadvertently ruined his chance to find a decent earthbending teacher.

Down below the Earthbending Champion, known to most as The Blind Bandit and known to very few as Toph Beifong, raised an eyebrow as she "watched" her opponent. Of course, she couldn't actually see him. She was, after all, blind – just as her title suggested. Instead, she used her connection to the earth to feel her opponent through the vibrations he created. It was rather advantageous in a way. Eyes were often easy to fool and mislead. Her feet, however, never lied; and right now her feet were telling her some very interesting things.

Her opponent did not move like a typical earthbender should. Most earthbenders had very heavy, firm footsteps – being so used to dealing with unforgiving stone. Nor did he have the fluid motions of a waterbender or the sharp movements of a firebender. His movements were light and carefree… almost airy. If she didn't know any better, she would associate such movement to an airbender. But, of course, the only airbender left was the Avatar and that would just be absurd.

Up in the stands, Aang nearly fell out of his seat as he was beset by a series of powerful sneezes.

"_No,"_ Toph thought, _"it's like he's not a bender at all."_ Did this guy really think that he could win without any bending? He certainly didn't seem nervous in any way. In fact, he was literally bouncing with excitement. Was he really that eager to fight?

"Well, well, well, someone is eager to get his butt kicked." She spoke as haughtily as possible. It never failed to drive her targets mad – being talked down to by someone they perceived to be a weak girl. But to her surprise, the person across from her showed no signs of anger. Being blind, Toph had never had the advantage of being able to see facial expressions and had to develop her own ways of reading other people's emotions. Through trial and error, she had discovered several subtle signals that people unconsciously gave off in response to certain emotions. Breathing patterns, slight inflections of the voice, perspiration; she could even use her earthbending to feel the changes in a person's heartbeat. But this guy… His heartbeat remained unchanged. His breathing remained light. And when he spoke, his voice revealed only pure anticipation.

"Are you kidding? After the fight I just saw, I'm so pumped! Nothing beats a good brawl!"

A moment later Toph's eyebrows shot into her hairline in surprise. She didn't need any of her sensory techniques to know that her opponent was giving her an enormous smile. She didn't know how she knew. She just… knew. She could actually _feel_ his smile. It gave off this strange, almost alien kind of warmth. The only thing she could think of to compare it to would be the feeling she got while basking in the sun. His smile… was the sun.

She shook off the uncharacteristically mushy thoughts and got back to the matter at hand. "Alright sunshine, let's see what you've got." Her voice was just as confident as before as she got into her fighting stance. Warm fuzzy feelings or no, this guy was going down.

Naruto stopped bouncing when he saw Toph prepared to fight and quickly settled into a loose stance for basic taijutsu. Frog Kata would do him no good here. Not only could he not use sage mode, but he doubted that a blind fighter would fall for the style's feints and distractions anyway. No, he was better off using the basics; not exactly the strongest fighting style, but it would allow him to adjust on the fly, which was exactly what he needed.

There was no signal or announcement, and many would later argue that the fight had been scripted as the two fighters simultaneously _moved_. Toph started by testing her opponent with a volley of differentlysized rocks and was pleased when Naruto easily avoided the projectiles. She felt him bob and weave through the hail of stones. His movements were smooth and natural without being forced at all, even when he was forced to bend at odd angles to avoid a particularly well placed blow. He definitely had experience – enough that he could feel completely at home on the battlefield. Maybe this wouldn't be so boring after all.

On the other end of the attack, Naruto was starting to run into trouble – not with avoiding the stones being hurled at him. The fact was that the rocks were larger, slower, and easier to track than most kunai. Avoiding them was simply a matter of keeping a calm mind and not allowing himself to be forced into a corner. No, he was having trouble remaining patient as he waited for an opening. He didn't know how the girl managed to so accurately pinpoint his location without the use of her eyes. But from what he had seen from her fight against The Boulder, she would exploit even the slightest mistake with excellent efficiency and excruciating results. He had to wait for the right moment, catch her off guard with a burst of speed, and then hope his reflexes could keep him out of trouble.

"I don't get it. Why isn't he using any of his jutsu?" Sokka asked in confusion. They had all seen some of the techniques that Naruto was capable of unleashing. Any one of them could help him, and yet he wasn't using any of them.

"Sokka," Katara spoke patiently, "I doubt anyone here has seen the kind of things Naruto can do. What do you think would happen if he – say, created a clone with everyone watching?" Seeing realization dawn on her brother's face she continued. "That's right, they'd freak out. Naruto isn't using his jutsu because he doesn't want to create a panic."

"So basically he has to beat a champion earthbender and he has to do it at half strength." Sokka summarized.

"Basically."

"Huh. Well, better him than me."

Naruto nearly cried in joy as he finally found an opening large enough for him to exploit as Toph shifted her position ever so slightly to change the angle of her attack. In that brief moment, Naruto built up the chakra in his legs and unleashed it in a burst of intense speed.

"_Fast!"_ That was all Toph's mind had time to process before Naruto was on her. In a purely reflexive move, she raised a stone wall between her and her charging opponent mere moments before he struck. She clearly felt the fist that impacted her barrier as well as the resulting spider web of cracks. She felt a mixture of shock at the strength that the man before her possessed and relief that she had not felt that strength first hand. Her relief vanished when she felt his feet leave the earth andanother hand impact on top of the stone and push off. The crazy bastard had jumped over the wall! She swore vehemently as she felt for his landing spot. He landed in a crouch directly behind her and lashed out with his foot in an attempt to catch her in the back. Toph didn't bother turning around as she neatly side-stepped the kick. She flinched slightly when the offending foot impacted on her stone barrier and a section of it – already weakened from absorbing the first punch – crumbled away.

"_This guy's really trying to kill me!"_ she thought as she frantically avoided a series of kicks and punches. Still, she couldn't stop herself from smiling. When was the last time she really got pushed to her limit in a fight like this? She never got to use her more advanced earthbending in her so called "lessons" and most of the competitors in the tournament were just amateurs with overinflated egos. It was only rarely that she got a real challenge. Maybe she could convince him to be her permanent sparring partner. She wasn't usually one to use her family connections but everyone had a price. It would be worth it if she could have this kind of fun all of the time.

She finally earned some space when she liquefied the ground underneath his feet and prepared to make her winning move. She was holding her own but she didn't how much longer she could keep it up. Several minutes of intense fighting was beginning to tire her out, but her future sparring partner didn't even seem winded. She could keep going for a while, but she was running out of time.

She very nearly had a heart attack when Naruto pulled his feet free and proceeded to stand on the still liquefied earth. He was now standing on what was for all intents and purposes quicksand as though it were solid rock. Pointing an accusing finger in his general direction she shouted "How are you doing that? You're cheating! Aren't you?" "_Of course he is."_ She thought bitterly. She should have known better than to hope for an honest challenge for once. Enraged at the idea of being cheated, she began her attack with renewed vigor.

Naruto didn't have time to feel insulted by the girl's accusations. He was far too busy running for his life. _"Why is it that every other girl I meet tries to kill me?" _he thought in misery as he twisted to avoid yet another spike that sought to impale him. Things had been going so well too. After his initial charge, he had made sure to keep the earthbender on the defensive and to not allow her to hit back. He encountered a minor snag when she decided to turn the ground around him into mud, but he had quickly rectified that with some water-walking. He realized his mistake all too late when the girl had immediately accused of cheating. Of course, before he could defend himself, she had retaken the offensive; only now she was using lethal force. Cylinders that used to push out of the arena had become deadly spikes. And he was certain that the earth was now trying to crush him, instead of just trapping him as it had been. He didn't know why the girl was so upset but knew he needed to draw the fight to a close for the sake of his own safety.

Taking a few smoke pellets from the pouch on his hip, he threw them and covered the entire arena in a cloud of thick black smoke. The smoke wouldn't do anything to hinder a blind opponent, but it wasn't her sight that he was trying to block. Free of the prying eyes of the crowd around him, Naruto quickly produced several clones and charged. The smoke would not last long and he did not feel like explaining to hundreds of strangers why there were now ten blondes in the fight instead of just one. As he drew closer, he noticed the girl's dumbfounded expression. No doubt, she was having trouble with the sudden appearance of so many people. She managed to shake herself free of her shock just as the first clones reached her. She stomped and a jagged wall of earth extended out from her foot and towards the approaching group. The clones did not even slow down and five of them were instantly dispelled for their trouble. Their sacrifice was, however, not in vain as Toph was left defenseless and the balance of the clones reached her completely unharmed. She managed to destroy one more with a swift kick to the groin before two clones grabbed her by either arm and easily flung her from the arena just as the smoke began to clear. Their task completed, the clones dispelled themselves – their tell-tale smoke easily blending in with the last of the smoke screen.

The crowd was in an uproar; both excited at the unexpected outcome and outraged at not having been able to actually see it. Xin Fu didn't even try to shout over the noise – instead opting to just begrudgingly hand Naruto his winnings and take his leave. Naruto barely made it two steps before he found himself surrounded. Hundreds of people struggled to get closer to him; some trying to offer their own congratulations, others asking questions while seeking to be heard over all of the others. It was several minutes before he was able to find anyone whose opinion actually mattered to him.

"That was an amazing fight, Naruto!" Katara exclaimed as she and the others finally made their way through the crowd. Naruto just scratched the back of his head, still unused to receiving such praise.

Aang however seemed to have other concerns. "What happened to The Blind Bandit? I want to ask her to teach me earthbending."

Naruto blinked a couple of times before trying to look around. It was difficult to tell with such a large crowd, but it seemed that The Blind Bandit had already left. She had likely left shortly after the match had ended. He supposed that he really couldn't blame her. Not many would be willing to sit around and watch as everyone celebrated their loss. "Huh, I guess she already left…"

Naruto trailed off at the irritated glare Aang was directing at him. "Did you at least get her real name?"

"Uh… oops?"

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><p><strong>Well, there you go. No big announcements or rants. Oh, before you say anything, I know Xin Fu was out of character so don't bother mentioning it.<strong>

**I have not received any pics, so I am obviously still accepting them.**

**Next time: the conclusion of "The Blind Bandit" episode. Look forward to it.**


	8. Chapter 8

**Well, it turns out that I am still alive… sort of. Long story short – I've been really busy and it hasn't left me much time or energy for writing. But I persevered and here we are. Before I get to the reviews, I have a couple of announcements. First, this will be the last time I respond to reviews in the update. Instead I will be responding via private message. This will allow me respond more quickly and more freely. Of course, the whole thing could be a bust; in which case I will go back to the original system. Also please read the notes at the end of the chapter. There is a very important announcement there.**

**Shademaster**** – Thank you for the review. I know my action scenes aren't the best. I find it difficult to express such complex actions in a way that is both clear and exciting. But I **_**am**_** working on it. Hopefully you will see improvement as time goes on. Oh, and don't worry about your English. It is a lot better than a lot of people on this site.**

**Kippusan**** – First, let me say thank you for the review. Good or bad, it all helps. Now, I actually thought a lot about how to respond to your review. It isn't often that I see one so… serious; and I wanted to match that seriousness without it sounding faked. In the end I settled on this. I hear your complaints and respect them. But I disagree with almost all of them and have no real plans for major changes in the future. I hope you can get past our differences and continue to enjoy the story. If not, I understand completely.**

**Blinded in a Bolthole**** – Nope, it was completely by accident. And don't worry; I don't plan on breaking up the chapters like that very often.**

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><p>"Look, I'm sorry alright?" Naruto apologized for what felt like the hundredth time. Aang paid him no mind though and just kept trudging forward through the crowded streets. Ever since the earthbending tournament, Aang had been effectively giving him the silent treatment; only talking when it was absolutely necessary and then only speaking a few words before going silent again. Quite frankly Naruto was getting sick of the childish retribution. It wasn't like he didn't feel bad enough already for possibly costing Aang a good teacher. He wished that he could explain why he had jumped in as he had, but he really couldn't. Learning to meditate and master nature chakra had done wonders to calm him down. He should have been able to resist his natural urge to get in the middle of the action. Maybe it was the idea of a good spar. Maybe he was still subconsciously looking for an outlet for his building tension. He wasn't sure, but something about that girl's fight had called to him – pushing at his deepest instincts and drawing him inexorably to the battle. He had been standing in the arena before he knew what he was doing.<p>

Though, if he was honest with himself, he would probably do it again given the chance. The Blind Bandit was a great fighter. Despite her lack of eyesight, she had been able to read his movements almost perfectly. He _really _wanted to know how she did _that_. It had allowed her to fight on almost equal footing with him despite the fact that he had the advantage in strength, speed, _and_ reach. Granted he hadn't used any jutsu for most of the match, but still…

Now they were stuck searching the streets for any leads on the whereabouts of the mysterious earthbender. Aang seemed sure that he had had a vision of her in the swamp and was trying to use that as a starting point; but in the end it was little better than a hunch. Naruto sighed. He was just glad that Sakura was not around; otherwise he would still be trying to dig himself out of whatever ditch she would have pounded him into.

Naruto watched as Aang approached another couple of boys to question them. At first it seemed as though the two teens would simply brush him off, but they quickly straightened up when they saw Katara approaching. That was odd, and he could swear that he saw a bit of fear in their eyes as well. Curious, he walked over.

"A boar with wings? Isn't that the symbol of the Beifong family?" He heard one of the boys half state – half question his friend.

"Beifong?" Aang questioned, excited at the prospect of finally having a solid lead.

The other boy nodded. "They're a really rich family that lives at the edge of town. Their family seal is a flying boar." He trailed off slightly. "I've never heard of them having a daughter though."

Aang slumped slightly as his lead seemed to evaporate right in front of him. Katara placed a hand on his shoulder. "It's a start at least." She reassured him. Then she turned to the two boys. "Thanks boys. You can go now."

The way the two boys clamored over each other to get away was nothing short of comical. Naruto just looked over to the girl of their group with a raised eyebrow. "Did you know them or something?"

The girl just shrugged, trying to look as innocent as possible. "They were the ones that told us about the earthbending tournament." When neither Naruto nor her brother seemed satisfied with that answer, she continued. "I may have had to… convince them to tell us about it." All three boys cringed slightly as they were all familiar with the terror the young waterbender could create and decided not to push for further detail. Seeing that there were no other questions forthcoming, Katara began walking in the direction the boys had directed, a noticeable strut in her step from the ego boosting encounter.

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><p>"What do you mean we can't come in!?" Katara cried in disbelief. Finding the Beifong estate had been almost painfully easy. The place was huge! It was at least three or four times larger than any other structure in the village and was surrounded by a tall stone wall. The mansion, the stone wall, and even the gate which they now stood in front of all screamed elegance and high-class living. And that was just what they could see… which admittedly wasn't all that much, what with the large burly guards standing in their way.<p>

Said guard showed no reaction to Katara's shouting. He didn't flinch or look away or really give any sign that this was anything outside of his daily routine, which it probably wasn't. Not for the first time Naruto wondered how Kotetsu and Izumo, the two chunin who regularly guarded Konoha's main gate, could put up with such mundane work day in and day out. _He_ would have gone insane after a few minutes. Instead the guard lazily looked over their group before grunting out a short, "No solicitors."

Katara's disbelief grew. "Solicitors? Look," she said pulling Aang in front of her. "He's the Avatar. Do you really think he would come here just to sell you something?" Normally she wasn't one to use Aang's position to get something she wanted – that was more Sokka's thing – but she had been on a roll today and she was going to be damned if she was going to let some brute of a guard ruin it for her.

Again the guard showed no real reaction, but just turned his gaze to the young airbender. After staring at him for several seconds, the guard looked back up and rendered his verdict. "Yes. No solicitors."

"What – you – how – the nerve!" Katara sputtered. She would have jumped on the larger man had Naruto not grabbed her arm and started to pull her away.

"Sorry for bothering you. We'll just be on our way." He said and continued to pull on her until they were around the corner and out of sight.

The moment they were safely around the corner, Naruto released his captive and immediately had to take a couple of steps backward to put some space between him and the irate waterbender. "What did you do that for?" She cried. "I almost had them."

Sokka and Aang both gave her funny looks. What argument had she been watching? Naruto, however, just kept walking along the length of the wall, like he was looking for something. "Are you kidding? Those guys weren't going anywhere. And I'm not sure what you were about to do, but I bet it would have landed you in prison." He gave her a knowing look out of the corner of his eyes.

Katara's shoulders slumped slightly at the accusation before quickly squaring again. "So what? Do you just want to give up? Aang needs someone to teach him earthbending."

Naruto searched the wall for a few more seconds before responding. Apparently finding what he was looking for, he turned and answered with a large grin. "Now who said anything about giving up?" And with that, he jumped over the wall.

Naruto had to bite his cheek to keep himself from laughing as he heard his friends' surprised shouts and knew that they wouldn't be far behind them. He examined the garden around him from the tree that he had landed in. Naruto wasn't usually one to sit around and admire the scenery, but even he had to admit that the garden was quite lovely. Several stone paths twisted throughout the garden, lined on either side by a variety of flowers and other greenery. Small trees like the one he was standing on stood here and there, dotting the landscape with cool shadows. Even the air was permeated by a faint flowery smell. It was an altogether pleasant experience and Naruto had to wonder how much these Beifong people spent to maintain such immaculate beauty. He was pulled from his thoughts by a familiar voice.

"What are _you _doing here?" Naruto didn't miss the accusatory tone in the question as he looked down to meet the blank eyes of the earthbending girl he had faced in the arena. He was taken momentarily aback by her different attire. When they had been fighting, she had worn a simple green and beige outfit typical of the members of the Earth Kingdom. It had looked fairly cheap and lacked an ornate decoration of any kind. Now she wore a white dress and yellow shawl. The whole outfit seemed to be made of some kind of silk and was a great deal more… frilly than before and did a great deal to make the girl appear small and fragile. For some reason it didn't seem to fit the girl at all.

"Ah, well… you see –" Naruto stumbled slightly at being caught red handed.

"Well? Are you going to give me a reason not to have your sorry butt thrown out of here or what?" She asked with more than a little aggravation. Honestly, first the guy cheats her out of her title and then he has the nerve to try to break into her home. Just what was he trying to prove?

"Look, I don't want any trouble – just to talk." He said hurriedly then added as an afterthought. "Besides do you really think your guards could catch me?" He was ninja for crying out loud! Hell, he had been outrunning chunin since he had been in the academy. The odds of a couple muscle-bound bouncers being able to pin him down when a dozen well trained men couldn't were remote at best.

The girl didn't seem too bothered by this though. "You? Probably not. Your friends, however, are a different story." She raised a sardonic eyebrow as – on cue – the rest of Team Avatar appeared over the wall. Aang appeared in a rush of wind as his airbending lifted him over the wall and set him gently on the ground again. Katara, though less flashy, was equally graceful as she eased herself into the garden area. A couple of seconds later, Sokka appeared at the top of the wall with a huff before toppling over the edge and landing with a heavy _whump!_ As he heard the shouts of the approaching guards, Naruto pinched the bridge of his nose with a sigh and mentally moved "stealth"" further up the list of things to teach Sokka.

"Miss! Miss!" Naruto looked to see a pair of guards running full tilt in their direction, clearly panicking at the idea that their charge – and by extension, their jobs – was in danger. And judging by their disheveled appearance, he was willing to bet that the two had been asleep or well on their way to being asleep when Sokka's blunder alerted them. If Team Avatar _had _been there to hurt the blind girl and had been allowed to escape all because the guards hadn't been doing their job; well, they would have been lucky to keep their heads much less their jobs. Naruto honestly found the situation pretty funny… at least he did until he saw the sly smirk that crept onto the girl's face.

Naruto watched in somewhat morbid fascination as the girl's entire countenance changed before his very eyes. First, she seemed to shrink in upon herself as she slouched her shoulders ever so slightly and clasped her hands tightly in front of her. Her eyes widened and glistened in apparent fear. Naruto noticed that she even added a quivering lip for good measure. By the time the guards had crossed the garden; the strong, confident warrior that Naruto had been talking to not moments before had been replaced by the shy, fragile girl before him.

"Miss Toph, are you okay? What happened here?" The guard asked as he checked her over for injuries and the other guard began moving in on Team Avatar.

"I thought I heard a noise. I got scared." Naruto had to brace himself to stay upright as he heard the change in the girl's voice. She sounded soft and meek and he found himself eerily reminded of Hinata.

Having made sure that his charge wasn't hurt in any way; the second guard stood to his full height and joined his partner in bearing down on the intruders. The intruders, for their part, were currently trying to think of how best to handle the situation. Running was always an option and one that they were very used to following at that. But they still needed an earthbending instructor and Aang was so sure that the Blind Bandit was it. Not to mention that they would be sure to tighten up security after this visit and sneaking back onto the compound would be far more difficult. They could always fight. There were only two guards and they certainly didn't seem very well disciplined. Beating them would be easy, but it would also cause a ruckus. Others would come to investigate and things would only get more out of hand from there. And they highly doubted _anyone_ would be willing to teach them then. The final option was perhaps the most unthinkable; to surrender – throw up their hands and hope that these guards were more reasonable than the ones at the gate. Really, what choice did they have?

Before the guards could react, Aang had already brought out his staff and struck the ground at his feet, using his airbending to stir up a sizable cloud of dust and dirt. Concealed by the cloud, Team Avatar quickly withdrew back over the wall. Just before he cleared the wall, Naruto stopped and took one last look at Toph, who had yet to move from where she was standing, before he too made his escape.

* * *

><p>"Well that was a disaster." Aang spoke from around their campfire. After making their escape from the Beifong compound, the group hadn't stopped until they were well outside of town – coincidentally ending up back at the lake that Sokka had been training around earlier that day. By then, the sun had already begun to set and it was decided that they would camp out for the night. News of the attempted break-in would undoubtedly spread and others would be searching for them. It was best to lay low until things calmed down slightly.<p>

"It wasn't that bad." Katara said trying, and failing, to sound cheerful.

Aang looked at her incredulously. "Not only did we not get to talk to the Blind Bandit, but now the guards will be looking for us. We'll never get to talk to her now. In what way is that not a disaster?"

"We weren't arrested?" The "statement" came out sounding more like a question. Her point did little to lighten the mood, though it did earn a derisive snort from Sokka. Katara glared harshly at her older brother. "Well, excuse me for trying to cheer everyone up. Look," She said, standing up and moving in front of Aang who seemed to be the most upset by the recent events. "Things didn't exactly go according to plan; but when do they ever? We'll find a way to get it done, just like we always do." This time the boys seemed to perk up slightly.

Naruto however had been too caught up in his own thoughts to hear much of the speech. He had been going over the confrontation with that girl – Toph if he heard correctly – in his head. There was one part in particular that he just could not get out of his head.

"_Do you really think your guards could catch me?"_

"_You? Probably not. Your friends, however, are a different story."_

He hadn't thought much of it at the time, but it was true. He should have been able to infiltrate the manor quite easily. He was a ninja. Stealth was part of the job description. And, while stealth had never been his specialty, the Beifong complex was far from a fortress. Yes, _he_ could get in easily but – he turned to his friends – the others couldn't. They simply weren't trained for that kind of thing. Naruto knew the value of teamwork and trust, Kakashi had been sure to drive that lesson home several times, but this was one mission that would be best completed solo. And it was with that thought that Naruto left his tent that night, after everyone had gone to bed, and headed back into town.

Tonight, Naruto decided as he worked his way along one of the inner walls of the Beifong compound, was a perfect night for an infiltration mission. Cloud cover blocked most of the stars and deepened the shadows that he hid in. Occasionally the moon would break through and bathe the area in its gentle glow, lighting Naruto's path just enough so he didn't lose his way.

* * *

><p>As he had suspected, getting into the compound had been fairly easy. He had merely gone back to the area he had used on his first attempt and hopped over. Once on the other side, he found that Aang had been correct in his assumption. There were definitely more guards patrolling the grounds, and they certainly seemed more alert than before. But, again, he was a ninja and the increased opposition posed little threat. Now he was moving quietly from shadow to shadow as he searched the inner compound for his target. He was tempted to use some nature chakra and simply feel out Toph's signature, but his promise to Pa held him back. Instead, he created several clones to expedite his search. A few of the clones had taken the liberty to transform into bugs, birds, and small rodents and had wormed their way into several of the more promising looking buildings.<p>

Time passed and Naruto grew increasingly frustrated. Between him and his clones, he had already searched most of the compound and had still found no sign of Toph. He was starting to wonder if she actually lived there. Maybe she had just been visiting… Naruto stopped and frowned as the memory of a particular clone struck him. His clone had found Toph, but the scene the clone had come across was not what he had been expecting.

* * *

><p><em>Flashback<em>

* * *

><p>There was a light "popping" sound and as the newly formed clone came to life. The clone blinked slightly as the smoke that resulted from its creation cleared away. The Naruto clones started to listen as the original began to deal out instructions, but quickly zoned out. He, like all shadow clones possessed every memory that the original possessed right up until the moment of their creation. So he, as well as his clone brothers, already knew the plan that the original Naruto had in store as well as what parts they were to play in that plan. That instantaneous transfer of instructions was part of what made the Shadow Clone Jutsu such an effective combat technique. You could instantly have hundreds of powerful – albeit fragile – soldiers who were all on the same page as each other all without having to actually verbalize the command. It sure as hell made surprise attacks a lot easier. Of course, the clones all knew why their creator still preferred to actually give out the instructions. Even after all of these years, Naruto was still a little unnerved by the little memory transfer and could not bring himself to entirely trust that the clones knew exactly what to do. And so he still would actually tell the clones his plan whenever the situation would allow it. Objectively the clones knew this. But still, the moment they gained their independence and were able to see the situation from an outside perspective, the whole ritual became rather silly and very boring. How many of their memories did the creator have to reassure him that they knew what to do? Still the clones listened, or pretended to, while the original went over the details of the plan.<p>

They were to break into groups of three and each search a predetermined section of the Beifong compound. His group was to be one of three to search a small group of buildings that looked more likely to be living quarters. They were to search building by building, room by room until either Toph was found, or it was decided that she was not on the premises – which would probably be any minute now. Their group had searched three buildings by themselves already. If the other teams were moving at even a fraction of their speed, they would have the whole compound searched within an hour.

As the team approached their fourth and likely last building, each member moved to search a different part of the structure. One transformed into a small mouse and slipped through one of the larger cracks on the ground floor. The second stayed in his human form as he went to search the grounds immediately around the building. The last of their numbers transformed into a small bird and flew up to the second floor where he would begin by investigating the light that could be seen coming from one of the windows.

Landing on a nearby branch, the clone could see through the window and into the room beyond. Inside, he could see two women. The first was none other than the girl he had been looking for. She was dressed in much the same manner as the last time he had seen her except that she had traded the white and yellow dress for a white and yellow night-gown. Next to her was a middle aged woman who, if the strong familial resemblance was any indication, was likely Toph's mother. She was dressed in a night-gown similar to her daughter's though it was considerably more ornate, with frills and lace hanging off of every hem, and she was still wearing several pieces of jewelry despite the fact that she appeared to be on her way to bed. The two appeared to be arguing. He could hear bits and pieces of their conversation but it was fractured. Slowly, the clone began to move closer, paying rapt attention as the words became clearer and clearer.

"… I… We've had… For the last time, you don't need to move into the more advanced classes. You'll stick with the basics and that's final." The older woman spoke in a clearly irritated tone.

"But why? I've been taking the basic lessons for years now. I want to move on. I'm ready." Toph was still using what Naruto had dubbed as her "Hinata voice" but it was obviously becoming strained by the anger and frustration that the girl was feeling.

Naruto heard the mother release a resigned sigh. "Because, Honey, you could get hurt. You're so small and fragile; and with your… condition, you're lucky we let you take lessons at all. Spirits know that we would be more comfortable if you didn't. But you were just so stubborn about it. Now not only do you get to learn earthbending, but you get to learn from one of the best teachers around… because we wanted you to be happy. But your father and I both agree, this is where we draw the line." She placed a gentle hand on her daughter's shoulder. "We just want you to be safe. So please, please let this go. It's for your own good." When Toph did not respond, the older woman let out another sigh before making her way to the door. Just as she was about to cross the threshold she paused and spoke over her shoulder. "Try to get some sleep, sweetheart, and try to at least consider what I've said." With that, she left.

Had he not been in the form of a bird at the time, the clone would have frowned. It seemed all was not well in the Beifong household. Why did Toph's parents think that their daughter was so helpless? They must have never seen her fight. If they had, they would have seen that their daughter was anything but weak and fragile. That fact alone raised another series of questions. How did Toph manage to keep her second life a secret? _Why_ did she keep it a secret? How did she become such a great earthbender with apparently no one to teach her? Well, there was only one way the clone could think of to answer those questions. Releasing his bird henge, the clone reached out and gently tapped on the window.

Inside the room, Toph was just about to crawl under her covers when a soft tapping noise caught her attention. Naturally, she assumed that it was just an owl or some other nocturnal bird that had taken a particular interest in the window. However, that theory was brought into question when several minutes had passed and the tapping had not lessened and had, instead, grown even louder. And her theory was completely abandoned when the tapping began to take on a strange rhythmic quality… Was that supposed to be a song? Having finally had enough, Toph threw off her bed sheets and stomped over to the window. Throwing open the window, she said in the half shout, half whisper that angry people are prone to use when they are trying to be quiet, "What!?" She didn't really expect an answer; so she was surprised when she heard a faint whisper.

"Meet me in the garden."

The command had been spoken so quietly that a normal person might have missed it. But Toph was blind, even with her earthbending, and her other senses had grown stronger to make up for her lack of sight. So she heard the command quite clearly and she felt a wave of irritation swell up within her as she recognized the voice that had given it. She was about to open her mouth to give the person a piece of her mind, when she heard the sound of rustling leaves and bending branches and knew that she was alone again. With a huff, she threw on a light shawl to protect her from the nighttime chill and quietly worked her way downstairs. This cheating bastard had become an annoyance and he apparently wasn't going to go away until he had said whatever it was that he wanted to say. A devilish grin split her face. She would let him speak his mind… and then she would personally launch him back over the wall.

* * *

><p><em>End Flashback<em>

* * *

><p>Naruto sat, reading one of the training scrolls that Fukasaku had left him, as he waited for Toph to appear. And she <em>would <em>appear, if only to get revenge for supposedly being cheated out of her title. The scroll he was reading contained the wind scythe jutsu – a staple of any wind user. It was fairly simple in theory. It simply required the user to build up wind chakra in a blade or other instrument and then "pushing" that chakra out in a swinging motion to release a blade of wind. The only difficulty lied in building up the chakra. The chakra had to be densely packed in order to prevent it from breaking up half way to the target. He was sure he would have some trouble compressing the chakra but the clones would help and then he would be able to add a much needed ranged jutsu to his arsenal.

Naruto was pulled from his scroll as he heard footsteps approaching him. Looking him from his scroll, he saw Toph arrive in the clearing. She had ditched the shy girl act and was once again moving with all of the confidence and conviction of an experienced fighter; though, if you looked closely enough, you could see a slight tension in her posture that showed her wariness of the situation. He supposed that he couldn't blame her. He knew the circumstances were less than ideal and the whole thing must practically scream 'trap'. He sighed. He was going to have his work cut out for him convincing her to help teach Aang.

They stood there for a moment in awkward silence as they both waited for the other to break the silence. It was Toph who spoke first. "Well, here I am." She said with arms raised as if to present herself. "What do you want? Because if it's a rematch you want, I'll be happy to give it to you."

If he was perfectly honest with himself, the idea of a rematch sounded great. The girl was a great fighter. He had thoroughly enjoyed the first fight and could only imagine that a second fight would be even more fun – especially if they could do it in a more private location where they could both go all out. But for now he would have to settle for simple conversation. "Like I keep telling you, I just want to talk."

Toph raised a skeptical eyebrow. Though she had already figured that a conversation was what he wanted (there's not much point in a rematch when you have already won) but there was no need for him to know that.

"You want to talk?" She asked rhetorically. She quickly stomped her foot on the ground and a small pillar of earth raised up in response. Casually sitting on the small pillar with crossed legs she continued. "Alright, talk."

Naruto took a deep breath and dove in. "Look, I know you think that I cheated you out of your title, but –"

"You did cheat!" Toph interrupted. "You had help! I felt it!"

Naruto blinked somewhat dumbly. "You… felt it?" Now what did she mean by that?

Toph raised an eyebrow in actual confusion this time. That was the part he caught? Well, she supposed there wasn't much harm in explaining that particular talent. "I'm blind." She began her explanation with the obvious and could practically feel the 'tell me something I don't know' look she was receiving. "But I can still 'see'. I use earthbending to feel the vibrations in the ground. I can sense everything from you standing there to the ants crawling on the ground."

Naruto let out a low whistle. "That's one heck of an ability."

Toph's eyes narrowed in anger. "And I also felt all of those guys that helped you win our fight. Admit it! You couldn't beat me by yourself so you had others do it for you, didn't you?! Who were they? Were they your friends from earlier or just some hired thugs?"

Well, there was no getting around it now. He had wanted to wait to explain the whole 'I'm from a different universe' thing until they had gotten to know each other better and she would be less likely to call him insane. But she wasn't going to let this cheating thing go and he couldn't think of any other explanation for the extra bodies. So, not seeing any other choice, Naruto dove into an explanation of who he was and where he came from, complete with a demonstration of some of his less flashy techniques, namely substitution and a couple shadow clones, for good measure. Much to his surprise, Toph didn't seem to think he was lying. Had someone come up to him saying that they were from another universe, he would have escorted them to the nearest psychiatric ward – or at least he would have before the summoning jutsu misfired. He was a great deal more open minded now. Toph showed no signs of any real doubt, though she did occasionally accuse him of exaggerating. Indeed, the longer the explanation went, the more excited the earthbender seemed to become. By the end of his tale, Toph's face had nearly been split in two by the manic grin that had settled on her face.

"So let me get this straight; you're a warrior from another universe where people use 'chakra' to do all sorts of crazy stuff like walking up walls and making copies of yourself, and run around having amazing adventures in exotic places?" Toph inquired as she stood and began pacing around the small courtyard, getting a nod from Naruto. "You wound up in our universe when a teleportation technique went haywire?" Another nod. "And now you need to find a way to get back to your universe so you can put the hurt on the guy that attacked your home village?"

"That's the short version, but yeah." Naruto confirmed.

"That's… awesome." Toph sighed as she flopped down onto the grass. "I would kill for your life, you know that?"

Naruto chuckled and scratched his whisker marks in slight embarrassment. "So… you believe me I take it?" He ventured hesitantly. Seeing her nod in the affirmative he couldn't stop himself from asking, "Why? I mean, if it was me, I would have thrown me out by now."

Toph didn't move from her spot on the ground. "Well, I would have but that clone trick of yours sort of threw any arguments I had right out the window. I still think that's cheating by the way. Besides, everyone has certain tells when they lie. Breathing. Heart rate. Slight twitching. If you were lying," she patted the ground meaningfully, "I would have felt it."

"I see…" Now Naruto didn't really consider himself a liar. He was pretty honest by ninja standards, unless you counted his pranking. But he still wasn't quite sure how he felt about someone he literally _couldn't _lie to. He made a mental note not to prank her in the future before moving on. "So what do you mean that you would kill for my life?"

"Are you kidding? With the things you do? I would love to have that kind of adventure!" Toph said somewhat exasperatedly.

"You're the champion of a secret earthbending tournament. Most people wouldn't consider that boring." Naruto offered.

"_Former _champion." Toph countered pointedly. "And it _had_ to be a secret tournament because my parents wouldn't let me do it otherwise." Her tone became bitter when she mentioned her parents. "They think I'm too weak and fragile to do anything by myself. I have guards watching my every move practically twenty-four hours a day. When you fought me in the tournament; that was the first time I had been able to get away in weeks. Sometimes I feel less like their daughter and more like some dress-up doll."

Naruto could sympathize with the girl. Few things could get under his skin like being underestimated. And to be underestimated so much by your own parents, who should have been your greatest support, the effect must have been a hundred times worse. But still… "It sounds like they're just worried about you. You should be happy that you have parents who care so much."

Even blind as she was, Toph couldn't miss the signs. Deeper breathing and a slight drop in his voice gave away the deeper meaning of the sentence. "You're an orphan, aren't you?" Naruto just nodded. "Sorry." What else could she say?

Naruto waved her apology off. "Don't worry about it. It's been that way ever since I was born. I'm used to it." He said, trying to ease her mind.

His words had the opposite effect, however, when her brain latched onto one specific piece of information. "Since birth? So you don't have any memories of your parents at all?" Now she really felt bad. Here she was complaining about overprotective parents when Naruto could only dream of having such problems. It made her feel like a spoiled brat.

Naruto could guess where her thoughts were going and cut her off. "Look, I told you not to worry about it. Do I ever think about what it would have been like to have a family? Sure. Do I ever wonder who my parents were? What orphan wouldn't? But I never let it define me. Instead, I went out and found precious people and made my own family." He shrugged. "Besides, it's not like I was the only one. Being a ninja is a pretty dangerous profession and orphans are fairly common. It would have been selfish to sit around in self-pity."

"I understand." Toph said. Of course, she didn't really understand. How could he brush it off so easily? But it was clear that he didn't enjoy talking about it and she wasn't going to push the subject.

Any further shocking realizations were cut off when the pair was surrounded by a ring of stone spikes that sprang from the ground without warning. Instantly, both fighters were on high alert as their senses strained for any sign of their attackers. They need not have bothered. Their enemy had no intention of hiding. "Well, well, well." Xin Fu's rumbling voice came as he walked out from behind one of the spikes. "What do we have here? The mysterious Blind Bandit," He said looking at Toph, then turned to Naruto. "and the mysterious new comer who defeated her. You should really be more careful. The two of you talking out here, in the middle of the night; people might think you were up to something."

"What do you want?" Toph asked angrily.

"You two cost me quite a bit of money, you know?" Xin continued as if he didn't hear her. "I never imagined that some random punk would have been able to beat the champion, otherwise I wouldn't have offered as much money as I did. But now I see what's going on. Tell me, did you split the money fifty-fifty? Or, did the Blind Bandit get a bigger cut for taking the fall?"

At this point Naruto's eye had developed a nasty twitch. Someone else thought that he had cheated to win his match? What the hell? Was it that hard to believe that he could hold his own in a fight? Bringing his temper back under control, Naruto decided to push for more information. "So what? You feel cheated so now you want revenge?"

Xin let out a low chuckle. "Oh, I know you cheated, but I haven't come here for revenge."

"Then why?" asked Toph.

Xin Fu smirked and spread his arms out as if to present the answer like a prize. "Money."

"What?" The two teens spoke together in shared disbelief.

"You heard me. I want my money. Originally, I had only intended on tracking down blondie there and getting my winnings back. But now that I know that the Blind Bandit is actually the daughter of the great Beifong family, I think I'll just take her instead. I'm sure your parents would be willing to pay a hefty sum to get you back – more than enough to make up for what you cost me."

Toph bristled at the implication. "And what makes you think I'll let you take me anywhere?"

"I wasn't planning on giving you a choice." That ominous sentence and the sound of rushing air was the only warning they received. Acting on instinct, Naruto quickly shoved Toph away from where they had been standing; and, as four heavy walls descended around him and encased him in a metal tomb, he thought that perhaps he hadn't chosen the best course of action.

A resounding thud filled the air as Toph watched the person who, whether she realized it or not, she considered a friend was imprisoned in what could only be described as a large metal box. The next second, the box was pushed further into the ground as an obscenely large man who Toph recognized from Earth Rumble as "The Big Bad Hippo" stomped repeatedly on the roof. The box seemed to have been designed for the sole purpose of abduction as with one last stomp of the Hippo's foot, large metal plates closed the bottom and completely sealed in its prisoner.

A low chuckle brought Toph's attention back to Xin Fu. "Well that's not exactly what I had in mind, but I think we can make it work." As he spoke, five more men appeared from behind the stone spikes around her. Each one she recognized as a competitor in that year's tournament. Having finished sealing off the steel container, the Hippo left the container and joined the group to complete the circle around her. "You're outnumbered seven to one and the only person who could help you," He gestured to where Naruto was imprisoned, "Might as well be on the other side of the world. Now why don't you save us all some trouble and just come quietly?"

Toph felt the instinctual urge to panic when she saw the circle around her start to close in but quickly stomped it out. Toph could feel the steel box next to her shake as Naruto struggled to break free. With any luck, he would figure a way out and lend her a hand. But more importantly, she was the freaking Blind Bandit! And she was the best earthbender she knew. The men might have had her outnumbered, maybe even outgunned; but she had them outclassed by miles and that made all the difference.

She assumed a fighting position and braced herself as her first opponent, an overweight man dressed in the colors of the Fire Nation, charged at her… only to be thrown back as one of the walls of steel container suddenly blew off and slammed into his face – a cry of "Rasengan!" following not a second later.

Xin Fu stared in shock as not one, but two blondes stepped out of the metal crate, muttering something about making clones in cramped spaces, before one of them burst into smoke. Moving his attention downward, he examined the now unconscious "Fire Nation Man" at his feet and the hunk of steel that had knocked him out. Frankly, he couldn't care less about that fat oaf. He was a second rate fighter at best and he was a bastard for supporting the Fire Nation over his own home anyway. Losing him only meant that he had one less person to pay later. What caught his attention were the metal wall and the damage that had been dealt to it. The wall had crumpled and warped around an impact point near the center. The impact point itself was marked by a deep crater. Looking a little closer, he could see that the metal within the crater had actually been twisted slightly, as if whatever had impacted it had been spinning. He didn't know what the boy had done to blow the wall away like that, but he knew he wanted no part of it. As the others began rushing forwards, he took a couple of steps back. If they managed to capture the Blind Bandit he would still have his prize; if not… he would make sure that he had plenty of time to get away.

Toph and Naruto stood back-to-back, all feelings of fear and hesitation gone. They had faced each other in battle and had developed a good sense of what the other was capable of. Either one of them could have won this fight on their own. By themselves, it would amount to little more than a warm up. They braced themselves as the circle closed in on them all at once. One of them, a small man wearing a green mask, dropped to all fours and began using both his hands and his feet to hurl stones at the duo at various speeds and angles. Instantly, Naruto was in front of the barrage with wind charged kunai in hand. His hands were a blur as he proceeded to systematically deflect or destroy ever projectile that was sent their way.

A loud screeching noise alerted them to the next challenger – a tall, skinny man with wild face paint and even wilder hair. He released a piercing war cry as he charged from opposite side, intent on using the rock in his hands as a bludgeon. His screeching was replaced by a loud snap as the ground beneath his feet turned to quicksand, courtesy of the Blind Bandit, halting his advance and snapping his ankle with the strain.

Following behind him was the Hippo, the massive earthbender who seemed to be planning to crush the pair with the even more massive rock he held above his head. But he didn't fall victim to the sand trap like his comrade. His much larger and tougher body allowed him to simply charge through the relatively shallow muck and out the other side with hardly a stumble. On some unspoken signal, Naruto and Toph linked arms. Naruto – who had still been deflecting the stone projectiles – spun using his superior size and strength to swing Toph around like a whip. As they finished switching positions, they released their hold on each other. Toph allowed her foot to dig into the ground; simultaneously stopping her momentum and sending out a small stone. The rock, vaguely shaped and no bigger than her open palm, sailed out with alarming speed and struck the rock throwing maniac in the temple. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

On the other side, Naruto was faced with a raging four hundred pound giant. It didn't take a genius to know that taijutsu wouldn't work on someone like that, but at the time he didn't have time to properly form a rasengan. So, as he was known for doing, he decided to try something potentially dangerous and with almost no chance of success. Doing his best to recall the vague explanation Sakura had given him some time ago, he pushed as much chakra as he could into his fist. Then, just as Hippo drew within arm's length, he thrust his arm forward and released the chakra at the same time in what he hoped was a passable rendition of his teammate's enhanced super strength. Of course, his control was far worse than hers and he nearly destroyed the chakra network in his hand while still only managing a small fraction of the amplification effect; but he was pleased with the results. Naruto's fist sunk in where it landed on the Hippo's gut and he could actually see the shockwaves travel across the Hippo's body as it tried to dissipate or at least redirect the force away from his vital organs. But there was just too much. The Hippo's mouth dropped open and allowed some spittle to escape as he tried to scream at the feeling of his organs bouncing around like so many pinballs – only to find that his lungs had frozen up and he could not draw in the air to fuel his cry. Dazed, and in more than a little pain, the Hippo stumbled back. It was a miracle that he was standing at all.

There was a brief moment of silence before the Boulder decided to remind the duo of his presence by trying to kick Toph's legs out from under her. He grinned maliciously as she jumped to avoid the swipe, thus avoiding the attack but also rendering her helpless to his follow up. He was going to make her pay for the humiliation he had been dealt in that tournament. He was going to beat her, break every bone in her body, and then string her up in the middle of town so that the whole world could see what had become of the "Great Blind Bandit." So caught up was he in his own thoughts of retribution that he failed to notice the smirk on Toph's face. In one swift motion, she brought both of her feet down in a hard stomp. When her feet made contact with the ground, a pillar sprang up from underneath the Boulder and launched him, end-over-end, into the air. He didn't get to enjoy the flight for long. Naruto, who had not bothered to even face their last attacker, grabbed the Boulder by the arm as he flew overhead and sent him crashing into the still dazed Hippo. The two tumbled to the ground together and groaned in pain – only to be silenced as the rock the Hippo had been holding came crashing down and sent them into blissful unconsciousness.

Naruto scanned the area for additional targets. He couldn't see anyone else in the garden. Xin Fu had probably left once he realized that his plan wasn't going to work. Typical. "I think we got them all." He spoke with cautious optimism. He looked over when Toph didn't move. "Toph?"

"One second…" Her voice was distant, as if she was focused on something else. Without warning, she slammed both hands on the ground. A few feet away, a short rotund man was forcefully ejected from the ground and launched into a nearby tree. The Mole, who had been tunneling underneath the teens, groaned once and then passed out. "There we go."

* * *

><p>There moment of triumph was ruined by the arrival of several armed guards, followed closely by a man and woman. The woman, Naruto recognized to be Toph's mother; which meant that the man next to her was more than likely her husband… and Toph's father. "<em>What<em> is going on here?!"

"Mom! Dad!" Toph's exclamation was filled with shock, tinged by fear. She spent years hiding her abilities from her parents – living out her freedom in secret. She looked around. Her parent's rage was understandable. The garden had been completely destroyed during their fight. Several bushes had been crushed by rocks and bodies, and a nearby tree had been stripped of several of its branches. The once clean path was practically non-existent. To be discovered like this! When the fighters had appeared… she hadn't considered – her father would probably never let her set foot outside again! Denial was just about to leave her lips when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned and she could feel Naruto's supportive gaze on her. After feeling him nod his head she could understand the message that he was trying to convey.

_"Tell them the truth. It will be alright."_ Truthfully, she was tired. She was tired of the lies – of having to hide who she really was. Maybe it was time to come clean. And so she took a bracing breath and dove in.

Several minutes later, Toph stood before her parents – short of breath but feeling considerably lighter than she could ever remember. She had to admit, it felt good to finally get it all out in the open. Surprisingly, she had been able to get through the whole story without interruption. Her parents had just stood in place and stared at her as she talked. It was a little unnerving and she might have backed out if she hadn't felt the constant presence of Naruto's hand on her shoulder.

A full minute of silence passed before her father finally spoke. "I think I understand now." His words were so calm and assured that, for a moment, Toph dared to hope that her parents would be understanding of the life that she had chosen. Her heart sank, however, with his next words. "I understand now that we have been far too lenient in raising you. For you to fall in line with such _hoodlums_ – it's painfully obvious that you need more guidance." Toph could practically feel her life being ripped away as his voice became increasingly harsh and demanding. "From now on you are to remain in the house at all times. If you _do _go outside, it will be under the constant watch of your bodyguards." And then he did something that Toph would never forgive him for. "And you can forget about earthbending lessons, young lady. In fact, you can forget about earthbending entirely; because you won't be doing it ever again."

"But – "Toph tried to interrupt.

"No 'buts'. We let you take those lessons because we thought it would make you happy; _not_ so you go gallivanting around and putting yourself in who knows how much danger… and behind our backs I might add!" His tone clearly indicated his displeasure at that last piece of information. Naruto moved to speak but was cut off. "And you! You should consider yourself lucky that I don't have you hauled away. If it wasn't for my daughter's testimony, you would be rotting in a cell this very second. As it is, I am content to simply let you leave and never come back. I suggest that you take advantage of my generosity before I change my mind."

Naruto was about to speak again to tell them how wrong they were and how much they were hurting their daughter but he was cut off again, this time by Toph herself. "It's okay, Naruto." She said even though it very clearly wasn't. Without warning, she turned and wrapped her arms around Naruto in a tight hug, resting her head on his shoulder. And then, just like that it was over. He was being escorted off the premises and she was walking back to a life of imprisonment.

* * *

><p>Naruto didn't go very far though, after he left the compound. He actually only walked down the street a little, just enough to be out of sight of the guards. And there he waited and thought over those few brief words Toph had whispered in his ear as they hugged.<p>

_"Wait for me."_

There were not a lot of possibilities as to what that could mean. And though he did not want to think that she was going to run away from home, he could not think of a better option. And so he waited. He was rewarded only two hours later by the sight of Toph walking down the street, a bag over her shoulder and smile on her face. "Hey, Naruto thanks for waiting." She greeted.

Naruto examined her, trying to determine just how genuine her smile was. Finally he asked, "Are you sure about this? You can still go back."

Toph's smile dropped, but only slightly. "I've never been surer about anything in my life." That seemed to satisfy Naruto for the moment and the two lapsed into silence. "Look…" She spoke after a moment, "we should probably get out of here. A couple of guards spotted me and I really don't want to be here once they manage to dig themselves out." Despite the need for stealth, the image of a pair of guards buried up to their necks in dirt was too funny. The pair laughed all of the way back to camp**.**

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><p><strong>Right, the big announcement… I would like to officially announce that I will be starting another story! Yay! Applause! Applause! Now I know what you're thinking. "You can barely keep up with one story. How can you take on another?" The answer? I have no idea. Also, I would like to apologize to those of you whose story requests I have turned down before now. But the idea for this story literally came to me in a dream. How can you fight inspiration like that? So yah, we'll see how it goes. Below you can see the title of the story as well as some basic information.<strong>

**Title: "Can We Keep Him?"**

**This will be a Naruto fic – not a crossover. It will be Naruto centric. It will not be following the cannon story line. It will (hopefully) a long story – not a one or two shot. It will mostly be very light-hearted in nature with just enough action and drama to keep it interesting. But it will not be a humor. It will most likely be classified as an adventure fic. Things involved include but are not limited to: amnesia, demons, running from the law, conspiracies, lies, love, and more than a few explosions. As you read this I am already working on the first chapter.**

**You should look forward to it.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Revival! I'm back for another installment of "So Close Yet So Far." I know, I know. It's been almost a year since the last time that I added a chapter (six months since I updated any story at all). I could give a lot of excuses – computer problems, school, writer's block, ect – but really, it comes down to the fact that I don't often feel like writing. Still, sometimes I do feel like writing, and so here is another chapter. This chapter is a little shorter than normal, but I never really cared for this episode. I hope you enjoy it.**

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><p>Naruto sighed as he picked up another fallen tree limb. It had been a full day since the native members of Team Avatar had awoken to find a newly recruited Toph in their midst. The atmosphere since then had been… tense to say the least. It seemed that Katara, Sokka, and Aang were quite uncomfortable with someone joining their group while they slept – never mind that they had wanted to recruit her in the first place. It didn't help that they didn't know about the circumstances of her joining. That had been one of the few things that Toph had requested from Naruto in exchange for teaching Aang. While their late night conversation and experience fighting side by side had formed some measure of trust between Naruto and Toph, she did not share the same relationship with the other members of Team Avatar – certainly not enough to let them in on the inner workings of her family. Naruto, having more than his share of experience with personal secrets, readily agreed; and so, as far as the rest of the team was concerned, Naruto had merely met with Toph at some point during the night and, after explaining the full situation to her, convinced her to leave home for a time to train Aang in the ways of earthbending. Of course, this created its own problems. As it turned out, the others were not very fond of Naruto acting on his own without so much as a word to anyone else about his plans. He spent the first part of his day being lectured by Katara about the importance of trust and teamwork. Naruto didn't have the heart to tell her that teamwork went both ways and sometimes meant trusting the other person to do what's best – even if you don't know what that is.<p>

Still, he knew that he had hurt the others' trust in him, if only slightly, but they would get over it soon. Katara would be fine once she calmed down a little and realized that nothing bad had actually come out of his actions, though her caring and somewhat pushy nature would probably push her to dig into the previous night's events eventually. Sokka was practical and Naruto doubted that he cared much about what happened since it got results. Really, Aang was the only real issue. Even after everything that had happened the boy was still maintaining that strange emotional distance and Naruto was sure that he would remember this as another reason to not trust him. Oh, he may not do so consciously – the kid didn't seem like the passive-aggressive sort – but he was sure that somewhere in the back of his mind, Aang was cataloging every little taboo and faux pas that he committed as evidence against him. He really needed to sit down sometime and figure out what had Aang so on edge. But it probably wouldn't be a good idea to cause such a fuss when they had just added a new member to their group, so he would let it go for now.

He pulled himself from his thoughts as he was approached by several more blondes, each one bearing an armful of lumber. "This is ridiculous, you know." One of the blondes said. "We're a highly advanced, jounin level technique and you're using us for chores!"

Naruto rolled his eyes at his clones' antics. If there was any part of the shadow clone jutsu that he didn't like, it was that the clones could talk back. Don't get him wrong, he loved that the clones could think for themselves. It had saved his life more than a few times when a plan had fallen to pieces only to be saved at the last moment by quick thinking – not by him – but by one of his clones. But it really sucked whenever he had to argue with them in order to get anything done. They really got on his nerves sometimes. Oh how his friends loved to tease him for that, since they technically had the same personality as him. Apparently he couldn't even stand himself – or so his friends would insist.

Silently, Naruto shifted his load to one arm and used his free hand to swat his clone's head – carefully so as to not dispel it and make more work for himself. "For the last time, I'm the original so I am the one who gets to decide how the technique is used. If I want to use it to overthrow an evil dictator then I will. And if I want to use it to get my chores done faster, then that is for me to decide and for you to suck it up and deal with it." Shifting his load back into a more comfortable position, he walked past his clones and back towards the direction of the team's camp. "Now come on, I'm hungry and the sooner we get this firewood back, the sooner Katara can cook dinner."

Unfortunately for Naruto, his dinner would have to wait because when he arrived, he did so to the sound of an argument. "I don't need any help. I can take care of myself." Toph's voice rang out. Naruto arrived to see a standoff between Toph and Katara. Both women were caught in a glaring contest and seemed to be trying to make the other woman back down through sheer force of will.

Katara frowned as she felt a little more of her patience slip away. "It's not about whether or not you can take care of yourself. We each do our fair share of the work. That's how a team works. Weren't you listening at all to what I was telling Naruto this morning?"

Toph just cocked an eyebrow. "Was anyone? I don't think you're anywhere near as interesting as you think you are, princess."

"Ha!" Sokka's voice rang out from where he was setting up the tents.

"Wha – why you – how dare you – ugh!" After a few moments of stuttering, Katara seemed to finally give up on forming a coherent sentence and settled for stomping off to busy herself at the other side of the camp.

Finally taking notice of Naruto, Toph waved him over. "Welcome back, sunshine. Enjoy your stroll through the woods?"

Naruto just gave a non-committal grunt as he set the firewood down by the fire pit that Sokka had made and instructed his clones to do the same. He had been on the receiving end of a woman's righteous fury often enough to know to stay out of the argument he had just walked in on. Toph and Katara would just have to settle whatever issues they had themselves.

* * *

><p>That night the members of Team Avatar all slept in their respective places. Aang, Katara, and Sokka preferred the safety and comfort that their tents provided them. Toph, still determined to maintain her newly acquired independence, enjoyed a more solid tent formed from her own earthbending. Naruto chose to forgo any of those conveniences. Having spent his childhood surrounded by Konoha's great forests – and without anyone to tell him otherwise – he had often spent his nights in the wilderness. So he was more than happy to sleep under the stars… or at least he tried to sleep. Tonight sleep seemed to elude him as his mind wandered and worries invaded his mind.<p>

Every time he closed his eyes, he was haunted by the vision he had seen in the haunted swamp (He didn't care what anyone else said. That swamp was haunted, dammit!). Despite Fukasaku's reassurances, he couldn't quite push aside the fear he felt for his precious people back home… or the anger he felt at himself. Konoha, the village that he had sworn to protect and the home that he loved so dearly had been attacked and he had not been there to defend it. Never mind that the enemy had retreated, or that his most precious people had survived the encounter; Konoha was in shambles, hundreds were injured or dead, the enemy was still out there just waiting to strike again, and he was stuck in another dimension unable to do anything but sit around and wait. It hadn't bothered him much lately because he had been too busy to really think about it. But now things had settled down some, which left him with time to just think and it was driving him crazy! He had always been a creature of action and being forced to wait while others worked to get him home was the worst kind of torture.

He sighed deeply as he looked up at the stars. The night air was crisp and carried the distinct scent of the wilderness. The grass was cool to his skin and the steady thrum of the nocturnal wildlife was a balm to his soul. Slowly his chaotic thoughts began to calm and his eyes began to droop. Giving one last thought to his friends and their safety before sleep finally claimed him… and Toph's tent erupted in a shower of earth and stone.

"We have trouble!" Toph's voice rang out from the dust cloud.

"Wha –" Sokka began before stopping to yawn. "What's up? Did we get captured again?" Blinking the sleep from his eyes, he looked around him at his friends who were all in various stages of waking. They were groggy but they were all there and not tied up in some enemy's camp. So, no – he decided – they hadn't been captured by any of the many people after their heads. Then why did Toph deign to wake them up in the middle of the night?

"Something is coming our way. I can feel it." The urgency in Toph's voice prodded the others into full consciousness.

"What do you mean?" asked Aang. "What do you feel?"

The question caused Toph to furrow her brow – as if she was trying to "see" something that wasn't there. "I don't know. I've never felt anything like it before." She hesitated a moment as she tried to pick out the words that would best describe the new sensation. "It sort of feels like an avalanche, but at the same time it doesn't."

"Well, that's helpful." Sokka said with no small amount of sarcasm only to be shushed by Katara.

Toph didn't pay much attention to Sokka. She was still focused on the oncoming phenomena. "Whatever it is, it's heading straight towards us - and fast. It will be here any minute."

Everyone took a moment to let that sink in. After a few seconds, Aang voiced the question that was on everyone's minds. "So what should we do?"

Naruto didn't even hesitate. "I say we wait here to see what it is. It could be friendly for all we know. And I could even set some traps around the area just in case it's not."

Aang and Katara seemed to be considering the idea, and Toph was already looking forward to a good fight. Sokka however… "No, no, no. I can see where this is going. We stay and confront whatever this thing is and the next thing you know; we're in the middle of the spirit realm or some other crazy place fighting for our lives against crazy spirit monsters, or crazy Fire Nation princes… or princesses." He added as an afterthought.

"Come on, Sokka. That kind of stuff doesn't happen to us… that often." Katara tried. Sokka just stared her for a minute before she sighed and hung her head in defeat. "Ok, so maybe it does…"

Sokka nodded. "Right, and in case you people have forgotten, one of our members just so happens to be the Avatar and still needs to master all of the elements before Sozen's Comet arrives. We don't have time to waste, so I say we get on Appa and fly in any direction that isn't towards that 'avalanche'." Without waiting for the others to reply, he walked over to his tent and began packing the campsite.

The others all looked at each other for a moment before joining him… that is, except for Toph. Toph merely grabbed her bags and threw them onto Appa's back before hopping up herself.

Katara looked up from where she was tying up their sleeping bags. "What are you doing?"

"What? I'm already ready to go. See?" She asked while pointing to the pile of rubble that had been her earth tent.

"That's not –" Katara began, only to be cut off by her brother.

"Save it for later. Because right now, we need to go." He said, throwing the freshly packed tents into their place. Nodding stiffly, Katara went back to her work and in another couple of minutes, Appa was taking off from the ground and flying off into the night sky.

As the group cleared the trees and continued to ascend, their attention was caught by a pillar of smoke in the distance. Looking toward the source, they were both surprised and disturbed by what they saw. A large machine made entirely of iron was moving in their direction at high speed. Naruto thought that it looked rather like the train he had seen in Snow Country, except that it wasn't running on a rail. Instead, it was mounted on a series of treads to easily navigate the rough terrain.

Sokka recognized the machine as something else. It had all of the earmarks of a Fire Nation war machine. Turning away from the sight, he looked towards Naruto. "Definitely not friendly."

* * *

><p>It took several hours of flying before everyone felt safe enough to set up camp again. By that time, daylight was fast approaching, and each member was feeling the weight of exhaustion on their minds and wanted nothing more than to simply lie down and sleep. As the others prepared their sleeping bags… and Toph and Katara got into another argument… Naruto took a moment to dispatch several clones and send them to set several traps around the area. It seemed unlikely that whatever was following them would have been able to track them so far, but he wasn't taking any chances.<p>

He was pulled from his task by the distinct sound of skin hitting skin. It was only now; in the silence immediately following the sound did he realize that he could no longer hear Toph and Katara arguing. He turned just in time to see a furious Toph stomping away from a stunned-looking Katara. The distinct red mark on Katara's cheek told Naruto what the earlier sound had been and that the girls' argument had gotten out of hand. He took a look at Katara before walking over to where Toph was hastily packing her things. "Are you okay?" It was a stupid question – he knew, but he couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I'm leaving." Toph said without looking up from her bag.

Ok, so maybe things had gotten really out of hand. He looked over at Katara who still seemed stunned by Toph's violent reaction. He felt that he knew Toph well enough to say that she was fairly thick-skinned. At least, she tended to not care about what others thought of her. What could Katara have said to merit such a strong reaction? Before he could ask, however, Toph was already packed and walking away from the camp. He moved to stop her, but again she beat him to the punch.

"Well?" She asked, turning slightly.

Naruto just stared back dumbly. "Well, what?"

"Are you coming or not?"

Somehow, Naruto felt that he was missing something. How did she and Katara fighting mean that he had to leave? Where was she even planning on going? And why did she suddenly seem so fragile, like she was desperately hoping that he would go with her? He looked back to the others who seemed to be stunned by the idea that they might lose, not one, but two of their members in a single afternoon. He glanced back and forth a couple more times as he considered his options. He really didn't want to leave the others. He considered them friends – not to mention they were trying to save the world. But at the same time, Toph was his friend too and she was quickly working her way up his list of precious people. In the end, he decided that someone needed to calm Toph down.

"Yah, just give me one second to pack up." Thankfully, he had very few possessions on this particular adventure so he packed up and on his way out before the others could gather their wits enough to stop him. He walked up next to Toph and, with one last look at his friends, walked away.

* * *

><p>Toph and Naruto didn't stop walking for some time, mostly at the earthbender's insistence. She was furious and she wouldn't be happy until they had put a significant distance between them and the source of her ire. Naruto wasn't going to complain. He was using their time walking to think of how to approach the subject of their sudden departure with his one remaining traveling companion. Ever the master of subtlety and tact, he decided to wing it. "So…" he began as casually as he could, "are you gonna tell me what that was all about?" He glanced over at the girl beside him. She just kept walking, and didn't show any signs that she was going to answer him, or that she had heard him at all. "Not that I particularly mind leaving our friends in the middle of the night and walking several miles over rough terrain when we could be getting some much needed rest. But it would kind of nice to know why we left."<p>

"She called me a spoiled brat." Toph's response was short and she showed no physical reaction. Naruto would have doubted that she had said anything at all if she hadn't continued. "She said that I was a spoiled brat and that I must have had terrible parents to be so spoiled."

Naruto grimaced. Calling Toph a brat was one thing – she probably would have just shrugged it off – but bringing her parents into the argument was probably the worst thing that Katara could have done. Toph's anger made a lot more sense now. "Well, to be fair, she didn't know what your family life was like. You haven't exactly been forthcoming about your personal life."

Toph turned on him so quickly that he was surprised that she hadn't sprained her neck. The glare she gave him wasn't at all lessened by her blindness. In fact, it was even more intimidating – a pair of dead eyes locked directly at him despite their lack of sight. "Are you defending her?"

"No!" Naruto was quick to defend himself. "I know what Katara said was wrong and hurtful. She shouldn't have said that regardless of what your family is like. But I also know Katara. And I know that she would never intentionally say something so hurtful. We were all exhausted – we're still exhausted – and I'm sure you both said things that you didn't really mean. And I know, if she had known how you feel about your family, she would have never said those things no matter how tired she was."

Toph stood silent as she tried to think of some sort of response. Failing that, she simply said "I don't want to talk about it," and walked away again. Naruto had no choice but to sigh in defeat and follow after her.

* * *

><p>"They left. I can't believe they actually left!" Katara said as she looked down the path that Toph and Naruto had walked down not an hour before. It was a motion that she had repeated several times since the duo left. And every time, there was some small part of her that expected to see them walking back down the path. But she never did.<p>

"Yep, in one night you managed to chase off not one – but two of our friends." Sokka said with sarcastic applause. "Great job." Katara glared at him but he just shrugged. "What? You know it's true."

"You don't think that I know that – that I don't already feel guilty about it?" She sighed in defeat. "I'm such a terrible person."

"You're not a terrible person. You're just tired… and maybe a little bit of a nag –"

"Not helping!"

"The point is you're a good person and I'm sure deep down, Toph and Naruto know that too. Things just got a little out of hand."

"Either way there's not much that we can do about right now." Aang spoke up from where he was settling in. "Let's get some sleep. We can look for them in the morning. Hopefully they'll have calmed down by then." And with that he rolled over and went to sleep.

Seeing that his sister was still hesitant, Sokka put a hand on her shoulder and began to gently push her towards her sleeping bag. "Aang's right, Katara. Everything is going to be fine. But right now we need to get some sleep. We'll look for the others in the morning." That seemed to convince her as she began to reluctantly get under the covers. Sokka took one final look around the camp before slipping into his own sleeping bag. They only had a couple hours before the sun would be up and sleep would become much more difficult. And despite his reassuring words, he doubted it would be easy to find their wayward friends. They would need all the sleep that they could get.

Snap.

"Did anyone else hear that?"

Ka-Boom!

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><p>Ka-Boom!<p>

From up on their ledge, Naruto and Toph were presented with a clear view of the fireball that erupted from the forest below. "What was that?" asked Toph as the earth shook beneath her feet. For her to still feel the tremors, even at this distance – that must have been a big explosion. She felt Naruto move beside her, no doubt to take in the visual spectacle that would follow such an explosion.

"It looks like it came from where we left the others. I think it might have been one of the traps that I set. I think they're in trouble." He looked towards Toph, expecting to see a look of worry on her face. He was mildly disappointed to find that she appeared indifferent to the fate of their friends. Mildly because it was clear that the air of indifference was just a façade. Underneath that forced exterior, it was easy to see that she still considered them her friends and was concerned for their safety. She wanted to go help them. She just needed a little push. "You know, earlier I said that I knew Katara, but I know you too. And I know that you know what it's like to be alone and how precious friends are." Naruto watched as his words began to take effect. Toph shifted uneasily. First she shifted towards the path that led back towards the camp, then to the path that they had been walking, then back again – as if she was literally being pulled in two directions. "Right now, you have three friends who need your help. So what do you say?"

* * *

><p>Aang felt himself break out in a sweat as he dodged yet another fire-enhanced punch. When their camp had been rocked by a significant explosion, their first assumption was that they'd been attacked yet again. When they had gone to investigate, they had half-expected to find that their mysterious pursuers had caught up to them, or even Prince Zuko. It had been the former. The strange machine that had been pursuing them throughout the night lay on its side – mangled and broken. Their relief was (short-lived), however, when the occupants of the vehicle revealed themselves to be Azula, Ty Lee, and Mai. The trio didn't waste any time before launching their attack.<p>

They had been separated almost instantly. Sokka and Katara had been forced away by Ty Lee and Mai and were now caught in a deadly game of tag as they struggled to avoid a barrage of debilitating strikes and razor-sharp knives. Aang, meanwhile, was busy engaging the fire princess. This was his second time fighting Azula and he was fairing even worse than before. Her strikes were just as powerful – just as deadly as he remembered them. She still moved with that otherworldly grace that left no openings or weaknesses to exploit. And to top it all off, he hadn't slept in more than twenty-four hours. His reflexes were shot. His nerves were frayed. And he could barely think through his exhaustion. A part of him couldn't help but to wonder why Azula wasn't suffering similar effects despite having pursued them through the night. It took every ounce of his concentration to avoid being burned alive by a fire-enveloped fist of fury.

He spun his staff to deflect another wave of flames before using the momentum to launch a blade of concentrated air. Azula just stood and crossed her arms in an x in front of her. Instantly, both arms were wreathed in flames. As the wind blade reached her she threw her arms apart, breaking the attack. Grooves were carved into the ground on either side of her as what was left of the attack continued unobstructed. Instead of counterattacking, like Aang would have expected, Azula allowed her arms to drop slightly as she slipped into a more relaxed stance. "You know, I must admit that I'm a little disappointed. I was looking forward to a rematch with your blonde friend. Tell me, where is the little idiot? Did he finally wizen up and abandon your pathetic little group? That's a shame. He actually provided me with a challenge. There aren't many people out there that can do that, you know. Certainly not you." She added with a cruel smirk.

She was just trying to get under his skin and he knew it. But Aang still couldn't completely suppress the flush of shame that he felt at Azula's words – both at how right she was about what happened to Naruto and at having his own inadequacies rubbed in his face. Even if she was just trying to throw him off, the difference in skill between Naruto and himself was plain to see. Naruto had fought all three girls on his own and had come out with hardly a scratch. He could barely keep up when the numbers were even. He was the Avatar for crying out loud! He should be better than this. How was he supposed to save the entire world when he couldn't even beat a single spoiled princess and her friends? Spurred on by that thought and the shame that it brought, he charged the princess with reckless abandon.

"Oh, looks like I touched a nerve." Azula taunted as she danced around his sloppy attacks. Her taunts were working. He was losing his concentration. Mastery over emotion was one of the basic principles of combat. In a fight between two warriors, the one to lose control of their emotions first was almost always the one to lose. She smirked. She had long since mastered the art of manipulating emotions – both hers and her opponent's – it was necessary in order to learn the most advanced firebending techniques.

She took another look at her opponent. His breathing was labored and his face was red – she couldn't tell if it was from exertion, anger, or shame… probably all three. Despite his status as the Avatar and his monk upbringing, he was still a child and children had notoriously poor control of their emotions. All it took was a couple of choice taunts and he was already losing his control. One more push and she could have the Avatar in chains in time for lunch. "Is this really the best you can do? I really expected better from the Avatar." She gave an exaggerated sigh and made a show of changing her stance. She straightened her back, brought her hands to her sides, and moved her feet closer together. It was a defensive stance meant to allow the fighter to quickly pivot and turn away from any strike. To anyone other than an expert firebender, however, it would look like she had simply stopped fighting. It was a technique created to lure your opponent in close –either to detain you or finish you off. The fighter could then end the fight with a quick and precise counterstrike. As angry as he was now, Azula knew that the Avatar would not be able to see through her ruse. But just to be sure… "I suppose I should thank you. I'll need to be in top form when I go after your blonde friend and this little spar has made for a terrific warmup." She prepared herself as she saw Aang clench his teeth. Any moment now, the Avatar would charge, and she would end this battle in a single move. Before her prediction could come to fruition, Azula was forced to roll to the side, a kunai impacting where she had just been standing. She looked into the trees to see the source of the blade.

"How many times do I have to tell you people? My name is Naruto Uzumaki, and don't you forget it!" Naruto smiled from where he stood in the trees. Even after everything he had learned about tactics, and all of the stealth training he had been through during his training trip, he still felt the need to show off from time to time. His friends thought he was stupid for it, but he didn't see what the problem was. Jariya had possessed a similar love of flashy entrances and he was one of the best shinobi in Konoha's history. And besides – standing there above the battlefield with his arms crossed, summoning scroll on his back, and sage cloak blowing in the wind – he thought that he looked pretty cool. He took a look around the battlefield and had to wince at the number of sizable smoking craters and destroyed trees. "Ok, so maybe I went a little overboard with exploding tags." He said with an embarrassed grin. All humor left his face when his eyes turned to the fire princess. "I don't like it when people threaten my friends, Princess. Now are you going to leave peacefully, or am I going to have to kick your butt first?"

Azula glared at the ninja, but made sure to keep an eye on Aang as well. She wanted so desperately to charge him – to put him in his place and redeem herself from her previous defeat. Everyone around her, from her friends to her teachers, had tried to convince her that she had won in their previous encounter. After all, they would argue, he had been the one to run from the battle – not her. But she knew better. She had been fighting to capture him while he had only been stalling for enough time to allow his friends to escape. The fact that he had succeeded and – more importantly – that she had failed was something that was completely unacceptable in her eyes and more than enough reason for the blonde to be placed squarely at the top of her "fools who need to be taught their place" list. Still, even she, the future ruler of the Fire Nation and the greatest firebending prodigy to have been produced in decades, was reluctant to fight the so-called "Sun Spirit" and the Avatar at the same time. However, if Mai and Ty Lee could finish their fights then they could lend her a hand and maybe – just maybe they could have this goose-chase wrapped up in time for them to participate in her father's… more ambitious plans.

Almost as if he was reading her mind, Naruto chose that moment to speak up again. "If you're waiting on your friends to back you up, I think that you'll be waiting for a while." He said as he tilted his head in the direction that the others had been fighting in.

Azula risked a glance in the same direction and was a little less surprised than she probably should have been to notice that a fifth body had entered the fray. A young teenage girl with short, dark brown hair could now be seen assisting the two Water Tribe peasants. Her eyes narrowed when she saw the girl sailing towards her two friends. So the girl was an earthbender… that would be a problem. Normally she had the utmost confidence in her friends' abilities. They, like her, were geniuses on the battlefield and were nearly unmatched in their respective arts. But the waterbending girl had been growing increasingly dangerous lately and it was immediately apparent that the new girl, who she could now see was an eaerthbender, was no novice either. She could no longer count on her friends to win their fight – certainly not soon enough to be of any use to her. As much as she hated it – and she absolutely loathed it – it was time to consider a tactical retreat.

"Mai! Ty Lee!" She called. Hearing the command in her voice, both girls immediately disengaged from their opponents and moved to her side. Just as quickly, they found themselves surrounded by the members of Team Avatar, each one in a battle stance and just waiting for someone to make the first move. "We're leaving."

Her tone left no room for argument, but Ty Lee could still not keep herself from asking, "What? Are you sure?" In all of the years that they had known each other, neither Ty Lee nor Mai had ever seen the fire princess back down from a fight. Even when she was facing multiple opponents several years her senior (as was prone to happen to a child prodigy of the Fire Nation), she always stared them down with a self-assured confidence before beating them so badly that only the most stubborn and foolhardy of opponents ever dared to challenge her again. For her to even suggest retreating was so against her very nature that it warranted a certain level of skepticism. The look Azula gave her in response spoke volumes about how serious she was about the order and how angry she was that she had to give it. She gulped slightly at having that anger directed at her – even for just a moment – and wisely decided to remain silent as they prepared to make their escape.

"You're not going anywhere!" shouted Aang. As Aang finished his proclamation, Team Avatar charged in, intent on capturing the trio before they could escape. But as they closed in, Azula began to spin on her heel, arms extended and a spout of flame lashing out from each hand. The trio was almost instantaneously encased in a dome of fire. The members of Team Avatar were forced to back away lest they be burned. When the flames died away, they revealed an empty patch of earth where the enemy had once been.

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><p>The teens searched the surrounding area for any signs of Azula or her friends, to no avail. The three had obviously been taught how to cover their retreats well. Even Toph, who should have been able to sense their escape through their footsteps, had been unable to tell which way they had gone. This was both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it meant that they would be unable to push the advantage that they had possessed and procure a much needed victory against one of the Fire Nation's most powerful warriors – perhaps even end the war if they had been able to actually capture her. But on the other hand, they were now safe from the threat that had been pursing them so relentlessly for the entire night and most of the morning. They could finally take some time to rest. With an unspoken agreement, the group began unpacking and setting up camp completely unconcerned that their campground had been a battlefield minutes before – that the smoldering embers were still burning themselves out. All that mattered now was catching up on some much-needed rest.<p>

As Katara moved to start unpacking the group's sleeping bags, she carefully watched Toph out of the corner of her eye. It appeared the other girl still only planned to take care of herself but at least it looked like she and Naruto were not planning to leave again. Nothing had been said about the argument that had occurred the night before and it seemed that neither side was particularly eager to bring it up. Katara sighed. It looked like she would have to be the one to start up the conversation. She had to at least apologize for her harsh words, she owed Toph that much.

"Listen, Toph," she did not want to see whatever disapproving look that she was sure would pass over the other girl's face, so she kept her eyes on her work as she talked, " I… owe you an apology. I said some pretty bad things last night. I was just so tired and stressed… but that's no excuse. No matter what the reason, you still left your home to help Aang and I should have been more appreciative, and…" She trailed off as she realized that she was rambling. She waited to hear what response Toph would give, but none came. She sighed again. She wasn't sure what she had been expecting, maybe a reciprocated apology – or even just an acceptance of the one she had offered. But it seemed Toph wasn't ready to forgive and forget quite yet. She was caught off guard when the sleeping bag she had been unpacking was suddenly yanked from her hands.

Toph refused to look up as she unrolled the sleeping bag next to the others, either to hide her own embarrassment or simply because she would not see anything if she did. "I wasn't exactly friendly either, and I guess I could have been a bit more… open about myself…" she trailed off slightly as she thought of Naruto's earlier words. "So, why don't you agree that you were a jerk and that you should never say anything like that about me or my parents ever again, and I'll agree to be a bit more cooperative and to help out around the camp. And… once everything is unpacked, maybe we can sit down while I tell you a little about my home."

Katara smiled, tired but true. "I would like that a lot…" she trailed off as she yawned. "But maybe it can wait until tomorrow."

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><p><strong>Well, there you have it. I'm not completely happy with this chapter, but then I never am. Hopefully you got at least some enjoyment out of it. At the moment, I'm not sure which story will be the next to update. We'll just have to see how it plays out. As always, reviews are welcome.<strong>

**Next time on "So Close Yet So Far": action, drama, intrigue. You should look forward to it.**


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